Samarinda sarong being sidelined

Samarinda sarong being sidelined

Rusman, The Jakarta Post, Samarinda, East Kalimantan

Thirty-five-year-old Tabbe was sitting before her loom, which was half her age. In the 1980s, the mother of three bought it for only Rp 250,000. Now and again, she loosened the yarn that was getting tangled. She also drew the weaving rod and pressed it from time to time. A piece of cloth, known as Samarinda sarong, was ready not long after.

This housewife of the Wajo ethnic group from South Sulawesi, is one of the hundreds of weavers in the cottage-industry village of Samarinda. Located in Mesjid district, Samarinda Seberang, the village is mostly occupied by people of Buginese descent, particularly the Wajo Buginese. "We feel at home here, because we speak Buginese," she said.

Better known as Kampung Pertenunan (weavers' village), this village produces Samarinda sarong of commendable quality, also well known for its motifs and trim designs. For women, this sarong is decorated with flower motifs while for men, it is checkered. First quality sarong uses fine and smooth yarn and second quality is made from rather coarse yarn.

In order to distinguish genuine sarong of Samarinda from imitated products, buyers can test by sprinkling gasoline over the material and then lighting it. If the sarong does not burn instantly, it is a Samarinda original.

The weaving industry, according to Tabbe, is a cottage handicraft industry passed down through the generations. But today it is hard to teach children the craftsmanship so that there is fear of an imminent end of the village's weaving history.

"Local youths now prefer to work in the city, mostly in shops. They are reluctant to help us with weaving work," she pointed out.

Yet their unwillingness is not a matter of prestige. "Since the monetary crisis in Indonesia, yarn has become more expensive while it is difficult to raise sarong prices. The kids who used to help us have finally turned to other jobs because of meager profits," Tabbe said.

Since 1997, prices of yarn from Java have gone up from the pre-crisis level of Rp 700,000 to Rp 800,000 for the first quality to Rp 1.8 million and from Rp200,000 to Rp 300,000 for the second quality to Rp 600,000. Similarly, fine sarong, formerly sold at Rp 60,000 a piece, now costs Rp 200,000 and second quality has also risen in price from Rp 35,000 to Rp 80,000.

"If we can sell three to four pieces a week, we are lucky. We used to sell 10 to 20 pieces," she added.

Iwan, 32, a local resident, recalled that before the crisis, almost every home in the village had three to four looms, with parents and children weaving from dawn to dusk. "The sound of handlooms being operated could be heard from main roads," he said.

Now the village has eventually changed. Only a few households carry on their weaving activities, each with just a single handloom. Most of the machines have been sold though some are still kept. And the village is getting more silent.

"Most village people here are now helpless in facing the difficulty. So we have to sell the sarong ourselves because the existing cooperative can no longer be expected, while weaving has been our traditional job," Iwan added.

Sometimes, according to Iwan, many of them also have to sell the commodity to middlemen at lower prices. Those who refuse to seek the help of middlemen usually await the arrival of visitors, who will try to find the typical product of Samarinda.

Tabbe's loom was again clacking, along with the throbs of her heart and the ticks of her clock. She resumed the weaving craftwork for the sake of preserving the tradition while racing with time.