‘Songket’ Adapting to Era

Palembang songket, is spreading. Originally, Palembang songket was only used in religious events and by royalty, but today, it is available and affordable for all. Derivative products are also emerging.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

The process of weaving songket at the Zainal Songket gallery, located on Jl Ki Gede Ing Suro, Lorong Kuala Batu, 32 Ilir, Ilir Barat II, Palembang, South Sumatra, Friday (18/2/2022). Songket is a culture that has existed for generations in the city of Palembang..

Aji Y.K. Putra (31), a resident of Kemuning district in Palembang, South Sumatra, has not forgotten his wedding last year, when he married Feny Maulia Agustin (27) in Palembang. At the wedding reception, they wore the traditional Palembang costume called Aesang Paksangko, made from songket and bearing the lepus berlian (golden diamond) motif, paired with gold and dark red accessories.

During another reception at the bridegroom’s house, they also wore traditional songket but with a different motif, the “bungo pacar” (flower of lovers) motif.

"I was born in Palembang, so I am proud to wear traditional Palembang clothing," said Aji on Wednesday (16/3/2022).

Nova Wahyudi (33), a resident of Jakabaring, Palembang, has a similar story. In 2015, he proposed to the woman who became his wife by presenting her with a sarong-and-scarf set of purple songket bearing the “limar” motif, in keeping with the uniquely Palembang tradition of seserahan (gift-giving) that has been passed down through the generations.

"If we don’t preserve the local culture, who else will?" Nova said.

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In the Palembang tradition, songket is not only used at weddings, but also at ceremonies to mark births and even funerals. Each songket motif carries a specific meaning to bless the wearer. The price varies, and can reach tens of millions of rupiah. Today, songket has adapted to the times, offering a variety of innovative products.

“In the past, songket was often associated with parents because the people who wore it were usually the same age as our fathers and mothers. However, that [impression] has faded because many songket motifs are now [contemporary],” said Linda Krisnawati (33), who lives in Bukit Kecil, Palembang.

She has a set of songket which she wears as a sarong and a scarf, as well as a shirt for her husband. The base price of one set of songket for couples is Rp 2.5 million, excluding the production costs, which can reach Rp 800,000 per shirt.

"Because it is relatively expensive, the [textile] is only used for important events, such as weddings and other family events," she said.

Along with the times, as well as the need to meet the tastes of millennials who tend to like their clothing in softer colors, textile designers and craftsmen now offer blongket, a portmanteau from blongsong and limarsongket. Blongsong is a type of Palembang textile made with silk thread, while songket is made with gold thread.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Several types of songket in Muara Penimbung Village, Indralaya District, Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, Thursday (10/3/2022). This area is nicknamed the songket village because most of the population has the ability to make songket.,

Abdurahman (43), who owns Rumah Tajung Antiq, a textile store located in the Tuan Kentang area of Palembang, started combining the weaving techniques for blongsong and limar songket in 2007 to create an innovative product. Making blongket takes a long time. Producing blongsong begins with preparing the silk or cotton threads, and then dyeing both the weft and warp threads by tying them to create the motifs. This is the limar technique. The preparatory process can take from 25 days up to a month.

After that, the threads are woven on a loom. It takes one to three days to produce 2 meters of fabric. It is during this stage that gold thread is woven to create songket motifs and decorative gold embellishments called cukit in the fabric.

Weaving blongket is quicker than weaving songket, which can take up to six months. Blongket is also cheaper, priced at Rp 400,000 to Rp 600,000 per piece.

Weaving culture

Palembang cultural observer, Ali Hanafiah, who goes by the nickname “Mang Amin”, said that the word songket comes from the Malay term sungkit, meaning to hook or poke. Songket has existed since the Sriwijaya Kingdom in the 8th to 9th centuries AD. This weaving craft originated from trade in silk from Siam (present-day Thailand) and China, as well as gold thread from China and India. The motifs in songket textiles were created by Palembang craftsmen.

The motifs of Palembang songket have never been inventoried, but it is estimated that there are more than 100 motifs. Each Palembang songket motif has its own meaning. For example, the Jando Berais motif is worn by widows, the Bungo Cino is for Chinese aristocrats, the Limar Mentok is for the weddings of the Mentok sultan, and the Nago Besaung motif derives from the beliefs of the Chinese community in Mentok, Palembang.

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According to archeologist Retno Purwanti from the South Sumatra Archeological Center, songket motifs are found in the relief carvings of Bumi Ayu Temple in South Sumatra, Mendut Temple in Central Java, and Gumpung Temple in Jambi. Some of the tombs of the sultans who ruled the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate from the 17th to 19th centuries also bear decorative carvings that resemble songket motifs. This shows that the weaving tradition of songket has existed for a long time.

Today, various efforts are being made to protect Palembang songket. One of these is the declaration of traditional songket from South Sumatra as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2013. Research and inventorying work are also continuing on songket from South Sumatra.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.