Restoring Respect for Weavers

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

Dancers perform at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Banjar Culture and South Kalimantan Tourism Festival in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on Wednesday (17/10/2018). The festival aimed at attracting tourists attending the 38th World Food Day commemoration on Oct. 18-21.

TARUTUNG, KOMPAS – Weavers largely remain nameless while their products grace the runways of lavish fashion shows, even though they have dedicated so much of their time and poured so much of their creativity into their work.

A fashion show highlighting the products of senior weavers and prominent designer Edward Hutabarat closed the Nusantara Textile Festival, which was held Oct. 13-17, in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra. The festival aimed to restore the honor of local weavers.

The Nusantara Textile Festival in North Tapanuli hosted a series of events, including the Nusantara Textile Exhibition, National Symposium for Nusantara Textiles, Partonun Boot Camp, the Ulaon Matumona Community Cultural Festival, traditional children’s games, Batak opera performances, fashion shows and traditional performing arts. The “Ulos Batak in Innovation” fashion show closed the festivities.

Among the unique highlights of the event was the participation of senior weavers from North Tapanuli. The weavers, mostly elderly women and a handful of elderly men, wore their handwoven ulos textiles and took turns on the runway as if they were models. At the end of the runway, Edward Hutabarat – a native son of North Tapanuli – greeted them, shook their hands and embraced them.

“The spotlight of this festival is on the weavers. We hope to restore their honor. They are the true artists of these textiles with all their various motifs. In making these woven textiles, the weavers apply their three-dimensional imagination. It is as if they are painting on a canvas,” textile curator Lefidus Malau at the Education and Culture Ministry’s directorate general of culture said on Wednesday (17/10/2018) in Sopo Partukkoan, Tarutung, North Tapanuli.

Following the elderly weavers, 18 models followed suit on the runway in Edward’s clothing, hats and bags created from ulos. In line with the show’s theme of “Ulos Batak in Innovation”, Edward magically transformed the ulos fabric through a variety of contemporary designs, including skirts, trousers, hats and men’s shirts.

Valuable process

Bhimanto Suwastoyo, the chair of the Indonesian Traditional Textile Enthusiasts Association, said that restoring honor to traditional weavers was the right thing to do. These weavers often did not receive the appreciation they deserved, as people were not familiar with the time and complexity involved in producing handwoven textiles.

“Weavers are often not named when their products are presented in fashion shows. Many designers forget to mention their names, despite these weavers having spent a long time and pouring their imagination into their weaving,” said Bhimanto.

He said that today’s economic pressures posed a real challenge for local weavers. Weavers were demanded to produce and sell their products at a faster rate. They were sometimes forced to use manufactured thread and other materials so that the textiles could be completed faster. Amid these demands, if the weavers keep to the traditional methods of using hand-spun thread and natural dyes, they require several months or even years to weave a single textile. (ABK)