Sintang ikat: West Kalimantan textiles find their spotlight

Emiria Wijayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was still a jungle out there when Father Peter Jac. Maessen first stepped foot in West Kalimantan 35 years ago.

In a country still reeling from the political and social turmoil of two years before, Sintang was a sleepy, almost forgotten backwater along the Kapuas River.

Set to conduct missionary work among the Dayak tribespeople, the Dutchman never imagined that he would along the way build up a venerable collection of local textiles and help revive interest in the craft.

As fate would have it, he did just that: Maessen helped establish Kobus, an information and advice center for the culture of West Kalimantan and the Dayak Ikat Weaving Cooperative, aiming to provide an income for the women weavers, as well as instill respect for their cultural heritage in the community.

The current exhibition of Sintang ikats at the Jakarta Textile Museum, titled Woven Dreams: Women and Weaving in Indonesian Borneo, comes from his collection.

The Indonesian Textile Society (Wastaprema), led by Adiati P. Siregar, visited Sintang in March of this year, and invited Kobus to Jakarta in conjunction with the society's 28th anniversary.

The success of Kobus and the revival in the fortunes of Sintang ikats can be credited squarely to the arrival of Maessen.

"When I first came to Indonesia, there were no roads into Sintang. It took me 88 hours to reach Sintang from the main road in West Kalimantan," said Maessen during his trip to Jakarta for the exhibition.

He had heard of local textiles, but discovered that the craft had become an almost extinct "underground" activity.

"Upon my arrival, I was interested in this weaving culture that they had. Women would weave in the night under flickering light. When I first approached them, they were hesitant to show me their work. It seemed as they were ashamed and did not want to acknowledge the richness of their culture."

The seeming lack of interest from locals did not dampen Maessen's efforts to find out more. At the time, the textiles were woven by old women, many of whom begged off weaving new ones due to poor health.

"They gave me reasons like their inability to see clearly anymore. So, I gave them glasses. This pleased them, not because they could weave, but because they could see their grandchildren clearly for the first time."

And so the women began weaving again.

"I started to take their weaving to experts who responded positively. They would give money for the finished products and I gave this money back to the people, who would give it to their children for school."

This new source of income, more valuable to locals than any plaudits from foreign visitors about the beauty of the textiles, spurred renewed interest in the craft.

"The weavers in the community achieved more respect from youngsters, who received money to go to school. They began to see the potential of their weaving culture and wanted to do more."

Interest in the Sintang weaving tradition grew, helping the production of ikats.

"We were first aided by Pia Alisyahbana," he said of the publisher and patron of the arts.

"She provided us with paint and thread. And there was added value because we would be featured in articles within her publications. People started to come to Sintang to see the ikats and when they appreciated what they saw, they began to pay money for them."

Although the growth in popularity has ensured higher production, Maessen said his objective was more than the commercial value.

"Personally, I am fascinated with the people behind the textiles. I am convinced of the importance of this heritage, it must not disappear, for it comes from their ancestors," he said.

"These textiles portray the human values we have. It shows the story of the Dayak people."

The intricate quality of the textiles is apparent in each piece and its motifs.

"The pattern of the textile starts from the sandung, in reference to the final resting place of Dayak ancestors," Maessen said as he examined his favorite piece on display.

"The design goes on to the shape of a serempang, which is a spear with hooks, symbolizing the monogamy of marriage. A deer is a symbol of the joys of life and a spider's web symbolizes closeness of a family.

"It is important that people are aware of the thought behind the creation and how these textiles are a medium of expression."

Sintha Djandam-Assan, a visitor to the exhibition who is of Dayak Ma'angan descent, was appreciative of the efforts of the Dutchman in continuing the textile tradition of her ancestors.

"This exhibition makes me feel very proud, and I'm touched by people like Father Maessen."

Curator Lucy Djuhari hoped the textiles would eventually reach a wider audience.

"We hope to go international one day, while along the way prodding the nation to be proud of this tradition," she said, adding that many Indonesians were also unaware that ikat did not only come from West Nusa Tenggara.

Kobus also plans to involve more Dayak in the weaving activities to improve their economic welfare.

Although aiming to gain greater recognition of West Kalimantan's ikat weaving tradition, Lucy said it was important to ensure the quality of each piece.

"We hope to raise the quality of our products, our material, etc. What we don't want though, is to gain commercialism through mass production and lose the artistic value. We hope the weavers will still do this as a part-time job or a hobby, while achieving their dream of schooling their children through weaving and hopefully create a better future."

As observers carefully scan the Sintang ikat on display at the museum on the opening day, Maessen looked on proudly.

"When I first wore ikat textiles in Kalimantan on special occasions, the local people would mock me," he said. "But today, everyone here is wearing a piece of textile as his or her attire. They are proud of it. They have accepted the culture and tradition."

The writer, an undergraduate student at Wesleyan University in the United States, is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

Woven Dreams - Women and Weaving in Indonesian Borneo Until Sept. 10, 2004 The Jakarta Textile Museum Jl. K.S. Tubun No.4 Tanah Abang, West Jakarta

Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Monday: Closed