Lampung Tapis: No Longer a Sacred Status Symbol

Oyos Saroso H.N.

For the Lampung community, tapis cloth reflects the status of the owner.

Take Tapis Raja Medal, for example. This particular type of cloth may be worn only during traditional ceremonies by the upper class of the indigenous Lampung ethnic group, such as family members of traditional community elders or tribal chiefs.

Such ceremonies include wedding receptions or the conferring of a traditional title (cakak pepadun). Even among the upper class, there are special rules that must be observed when wearing the cloth.

The type of the ceremony will determine which tapis cloth should be worn. For weddings and cakak pepadun, only Tapis Jung Sarat, Raja Medal, Raja Tunggal, Dewasano, Limar Sekebar,Ratu Tulang Bawang and Cucuk Semako can be worn.

If a piece of tapis cloth is worn for a cangget, an event in which a dance is performed to honor an important guest, then it must be one with any of these motifs: Bintang Perak, Tapis Balak, Pucuk Rebung, Lawek Linau or Kibang. For elderly women, the tapis worn is usually Tapis Agheng, Cucuk Pinggir or Tapis Kaca.

If a piece of tapis cloth is worn when it should not be, a traditional sanction will be imposed on the wearer. He or she will be admonished by the other members of the community. If, for example, someone who has yet to meet the traditional requirements for wearing Tapis Medal insists on wearing it during a traditional ceremony, the cloth may be taken off in public.

However, modernization has caused tapis cloth to lose its sacred quality. Today, it is worn not only by noble families and traditional community elders, but also by lower class Lampung people. There is a difference, though.

The thread used to embroider the cloth worn by traditional community elders is usually mixed with gold but for ordinary people, the thread is gold in color only.

Despite this difference, the motifs embroidered on tapis cloth worn by ordinary people are still beautiful. However, the cloth may only be worn for certain traditional rites, such as bumammat, an event in which youngsters recite the Koran in a traditional hall in the presence of community elders and others as evidence that they can read the Koran.

""As times changed, the motifs used in tapis also changed, but the old-style motifs are still extant,"" said Aisyah Yaqub, 66, a tapis maker from Natar village, South Lampung.

Aisyah cited as an example the Pucuk Rebung (bamboo shoot) motif, which has been known since time immemorial, or decorative motifs that have survived since the Hindu era.

The Pucuk Rebung motif, a symbol of prosperity, remains the main motif used in tapis cloth today. Also still popular nowadays is the spiral motif, the symbol of worship of the sun and nature.

The decorative motif of the Tree of Life is also believed to signify the unity and oneness of God, the creator of the universe.

Aisyah said that in the old days, tapis makers prepared their materials by themselves. They wove the fabric using the ikat weaving method and made the thread out of cotton. They used silk worms to produce silk yarns and collected pantis, bees wax used to stiffen thread.

To preserve the yarn, they used the roots of the fragrant citronella grass. Then, to avoid discoloring, they used betel leaves. For red colorant, they used raw areca nuts, pacar (Lawsonia inermis) leaves and jejal tree bark They used Eugenia cumini/polyantha bark and Nephelium lappaceum to obtain black dye. For blue, they used mahogany bark, while durian (Durio zibethinus) was used for brown.

If they wanted a stronger bluer, they would use lanson fruit or talom leaves. As for yellow, this obtained this using turmeric and lime.

""All these materials, taken from nature, are much better in quality than those that you can obtain now in the shops,"" Aisyah said.

Nowadays, she said, if you wanted to make tapis cloth, you simply bought a spool of cotton thread of the Tiger or Astra brand. This thread comes in various colors. To embroider, you simply buy a spool of gold thread.

You must be highly skilled to be able to make tapis cloth and the process of making it is long and complicated. It usually takes between two weeks and two months to make one piece of tapiscloth.

The process is unique and has magical connotations. In the past, a piece of tapis cloth was made of pineapple leaves. Throughout the process of weaving and embroidering, the tapis maker would recite mantras to ensure that the cloth would not bring harm to anyone wearing it later.

As has been mentioned earlier, you will need cotton, cotton thread and gold thread to make tapis cloth. Cotton is the basic material, while the cotton thread and gold thread are used to embroider decorative motifs on the cloth.

When you have collected all the materials, the first thing to do is to weave the cloth. This process is called mattakh. Then comes the embroidering of the decorative motifs on the cloth. To do this you will need an instrument called a tekang, which is a rectangular-shaped board on which the cloth for embroidering is stretched. The embroidering is done manually using a needle. Of course, before you do this, you will have traced out your motif on the cloth.

There are many kinds of decorative motifs. You may prefer the geometrical motifs like diamond shapes or motifs taken from plants or animals. If you decide to draw a motif of a plant, usually you will opt for symmetrically embroidered flowers or tendrils. The decorative motif of a tendril is usually embroidered in the shape of a string and used for Tapis Cucuk Andak and Inuh. The tendril is spiral shaped. If you like animals, then you will usually opt for a dragon, a bird (a garuda, a mythical bird in Hinduism that transported the god Vishnu through space, or a peacock), a cock or other animal.

A bird signifies someone's high social status while a cock symbolizes bravery. The motif of a peacock, which is noted for the beauty of its tail, symbolizes grandeur.

This motif is found in Perahu Garuda (Garuda's Boat) tapis, which is usually worn to a traditional feast. It is the symbol of the attainment of high social status. The motif of a bird is usually found intapis cloth worn by elderly ladies and generally the cloth has a dark foundation color.

You can also find the motif of other animals, such as elephants, water buffalo or winged horses. An elephant and a water buffalo symbolize prosperity while a winged horse is the symbol of bravery.

These motif are usually found on the tapis cloth worn by young ladies and the wives of traditional community elders, and are called Tapis Raja Medal, Tapis Raja Tunggal and Tapis Gajah Meghem. You can also find dragon, fish or butterfly motifs, a clear sign of Chinese influence.

Aside from plants and animals, human beings also feature in tapis cloth motifs. Usually the motif depicts someone riding a horse, an elephant or his rato (royal carriage). These motifs, which show that a person is higher than an animal, can be found in Tapis Raja Tunggal and Tapis Raja Medal.

The motif of a human being can also be found in Tapis Ratu Tulang Bawang. It depicts someone wearing a crown or having horns, symbols of respectability at a very high level.

There are also a motif in the form of a silver-colored star or a crescent. This is found in Tapis Limar and symbolizes a bright future. The motif of a boat is found in Tapis Raja Tunggal, Tapis Salem Di Lawek Di Gunung and symbolizes a transitional period, which, according to the worldview of Lampung people, means a desire to reach higher social status.

The boat clearly symbolizes the means with which someone can climb the social ladder. Last but not least, there is the Pucuk Rebung motif, which symbolizes prosperity and natural wealth.

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