Woven cloth traces Lombok's history

By Susi Andrini

SUKARERA, Lombok (JP): It is said that a person's clothes reflect their personality. A piece of cloth can do the same. The difference is that a cloth does not only represent someone's personality but it is also typical of the people who make it and their history.

There is a great variety of cloth in Indonesia. Each region is noted for the different characteristics and decorations of their cloth. One example is the tenun (woven cloth) originating in Sukarare village, Central Lombok, West Nusatenggara.

For Sukarare people, weaving cloth is a tradition that has been passed down from their ancestors. Girls aged seven are obliged to learn weaving by using the peranggon (loom). When they are 10 they learn to make motives. Tenun motives are not merely symbols without meaning. With skillful hands, instinct and traditional esthetics, the decorations are processed into an individual force and source of attraction.

People who wear the cloth exude an extraordinary beauty. A magical force of its own emanates from the cloth. From a philosophical point of view, it is connected with a person's life cycle which begins with birth and continues with adolescence, marriage and ends in death. Weaving is a compulsory skill that adult women must master for themselves and for other needs.

"When I get married, I must be able to weave my own cloth which is to be exchanged with songket cloth by my future husband," said a girl while weaving a cloth.

There are two kinds of tenun: songket and ikat. Songket is embroidered with gold or silver filigree. Unlike ikat, which is smooth on both sides, the front side of songket is smoother than the back side.

Ikat can be made either by a man or a woman. But men generally do not weave cloth because it is associated with being feminine. As for songket, men are entirely forbidden to weave it lest they become sterile.

Villager Sahyan said: "When a worker is spinning yarn, he is not allowed to come close, because the yarn may become loose and a man's privates may get in the way."

The Lombok woven cloths are renowned for their decorations, which cover virtually all the cloth. They range from wayang figures, flowers, plants or symmetric and geometric lines which color the cloth's texture.

The lines form quadrangles or hexagons. On the edges of the cloth there are usually zigzags and straight lines which surround the decorations in the form of pakis (fern) leaves or flowers in various colors.

"Making motives should be entrusted to the (kuncen) experts," said Sahyan.

Before making the motive, the weaver should pray. Failure to pray is considered harmful.

Sahyan cited one example of a weaver who was trying to make a songket of wong merak (Arjuna, a wayang character) motive without praying. The consequence? The cloth was not finished and the worker's eyes became blurred.

A weaver who made an ular naga (dragon) motive had a different experience. He failed to finish the work and every night he felt the presence of a snake.

"Only dukun (faith healers) can bring about a cure by mixing water and setanggi (incense) flowers," said Sahyan, who believes that dukun can chase away evil spirits which harass the weavers. He believes not everyone can make songket.

The use of songket is adapted to suit the occasion. For example, the tapokemalo motive, which has black as its basic color and is decorated with white symmetric and vertical lines, is used by people going on a trip.

Red is the basic color of the ragigenep motive which is also decorated with ornaments resembling the tapokemalo. This cloth is used as a clothing accessory. Straight lines signify honesty like the word lombok which means "straight".

For newlyweds during their honeymoon there is a cloth which serves as a blanket. The motive is called kembangkomak and is decorated with flowers and plants.

The cloth is also used symbolically at a time of death. "Bodies are dressed in kafan/leang for burial," said Sarpan. Kafan cloth is considered holy. Before it is woven, it is cleaned and dried in the sun with kanji (starch) for its durability and stiffness. Raw yarn is used, taking into consideration that it will decompose along with the body. The cloth is only made in certain months. It is forbidden to make it in the holy month of Ramadhan, and in the months of Maulid and Rajab.

The production of cloth requires cotton that is spun into yarn. The design is made and wrapped and bound by plastic strings. The cloth is wrapped to prevent its colors from mixing in the dyeing process. After the dyeing process, the cloth is dried for four days. It is then rolled one by one on the loom. The yarn is then ready for weaving.

Chemicals are used for dyeing. "The dyeing process is divided into two. There is the cold process (using cold water) and the hot process (using hot water). Compared to the cold process, the hot process uses less chemicals," said Saman, a tenun manufacturer in the village.

He added the chemicals are needed to enhance the colors and make them weather-resistant.

Tenun varies in price. A songket cloth costs between Rp 50,000 and Rp 75,000 per meter. A sarong may reach Rp 100,000. Ikat costs Rp 35,000 a meter.