Getting To Know Songket, Traditional Fabric of Indonesia Archipelago.

 

Posing with the Owner of Museum Songket, Zainal (Center) in Palembang (14/05/21).

Traditional cloth or traditional Indonesian, Songket has been a part of the life of the people of the archipelago since prehistoric times, which is not only a set of clothing with functional values. Its presence has proven to be a socio-cultural instrument that is part of history, has the economy of society, ties inter-ethnic kinship and is the pride of the country, coloring Indonesia's cultural diversity as a whole.

 Songket woven cloth is an artefact in culture that plays a role as one of the special ethnic identities for the Malay community, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in the world whose distribution covers the Asean region and is full of religious influences, Islam.Especially in Indonesia, these ethnic Malay people are spread from Sumatra (South Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, East Sumatra, Aceh), Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali to Lombok.

The use of additional gold or silver threads originating from China or India, when Islam entered Indonesia, influenced the decorative variety of songket weaving patterns in coastal communities, where the area is the distribution of the Malay ethnic community. No wonder,  the songket weaving which is scattered with various decorative patterns is also a cultural artifact where the influence of Islam can be seen and studied," he said.

In East Sumatra, songket has a meaning as a traditional Malay cloth that is passed down from generation to generation by the traditional stakeholders of the East Sumatra Sultanates (Sultanate of Langkat, Sultanate of Deli, Sultanate of Serdang State, Sultanate of Negeri Asahan, and Sultanate of Kualuh) with distinctive characteristics. local area. According to tradition, the songket cloth may only be woven by virgins or teenage girls; but now the men also weave songket. Some traditional Sumatran songket fabrics have patterns that carry certain meanings.

By understanding the importance and high meaning of traditional fabrics for the nation's culture which is very rich in diversity and we can almost find it in all provinces in the country, for this reason,  the Cita Tenun Indonesia association for example, since 2008, has tried to preserve traditional fabrics, especially woven fabrics, through various program. Starting from the empowerment of craftsmen, developing craftsmen skills, marketing and promotion of the products produced, to the latest knowledge, so that traditional woven fabrics can continue to be present as part of the country's industry that can be excelled.

It is expected by doing so these traditional woven fabrics will not only become an economic commodity as part of the latest textile, fashion and interior industries, but also to preserve cultural history through the values contained therein which also become an ethnic identity.

Source : https://www.republika.co.id/berita/ngvaqq/mengenal-songket-dan-sejarahnya