Samarinda - Rohani, 51, was swinging the bars of her wooden loom back and forth, occasionally hooking her yarns between the numerous threads connected to the iron combs on the device.
Her light yellow yarns combined with the thousands of other green threads from the comb to form a beautiful, unique and abstract pattern.
The design was created on an ulin hardwood loom by following a pattern she had placed in front of her.
"I`m weaving a sarong with a Dayak motif," she told The Jakarta Post.
Rohani was working on the veranda of her home in Gang Pertenunan, Jl. Pangeran Bendahara, Samarinda Seberang, East Kalimantan.
By her side was a brittle loom she still used, with the help of a worker.
Rohani is only one of dozens of weavers in Samarinda Seberang working in the cottage industry of woven fabrics more popular as Samarinda sarongs, which have lately become an icon of the city commonly dubbed Kota Tepian.
The city`s sarongs have always served as valuable souvenirs for central government officials and during the national events it hosts, such as the National Sports Week held in July.
"Many officials, including former president Suharto, former vice president M. Hatta and Kutai Sultan Sulaiman have bought Samarinda sarongs," Rohani said.
She said the East Kalimantan governor and Samarinda mayor have often ordered pieces.
"Mayor Achmad Amin most frequently buys his sarongs here, perhaps because of its shared origins with South Sulawesi, as sarongs are Sulawesi people`s daily wear," said Rahmawati, 40, another weaver.
According to Rahmawati, the frequent visits by government leaders have caused the Samarinda sarongs to be identified with some of their names: The pink ones with green stripes are known as the Soeharto motif and the dark red ones with black stripes the Hatta motif.
"We call them Suharto and Hatta because they chose the designs when they visited here. This weaving industry has been handed down through the generations and I belong to the seventh," added Rahmawati, who is helped by her husband Mansyur Mappe in the business which she inherited from her father Achmadsyah.
The price of a Samarinda sarong ranges from Rp 75,000 to Rp 750,000. Gang Pertenunan is the city`s weaving center, where the majority of women in this alley on Jl. Pangeran Bendahara are engaged in the cottage industry. Two types of weaving machines are used: Non-mechanical weaving looms (ATBM) and hand looms. It takes two to five days to finish a sarong by means of an ATBM, compared with around two weeks when using a hand loom.
The weaving activity in Gang Pertenunan belongs to the category of mid-level micro businesses needing further development and encouragement. However, this business has not yet received local or central government aid in a comprehensive way.
According to Rohani, she has never received capital aid or had an opportunity to join a trade fair.
"I was granted a loom in 1984 and have not gotten a new one since then. Now we need capital to increase our production. I have to sell my sarongs before producing more, because I need at least Rp 2 million to buy the yarns, which does not include the dyes nor the spinning costs," she said.
Sarong weaving is the only source of living for Rohani, whose sickly husband is no longer capable of working. "Weaving is a difficult job but I have no choice. I`m not skilled in any other work and have no formal qualifications, so I have to continue this work I`ve been doing for 32 years, however intricate it may be," Rohani said.
The yarns for Samarinda sarongs are imported from Hong Kong because local products are of lower quality. White yarns are immersed in water for three days before being dyed.
After dyeing, they are boiled for at least two hours and then rinsed and dried in the sun. The processed yarns are spun into bigger reels for further linking with three combs called are and jakka. Thousands of yarns pass the combs, each row being filled with as many as 2,000 threads.
Sarongs with elaborate motifs are finished in four to five days while those with simple designs take only two to three days on an ATBM. Samarinda sarongs come in purple, green, blue, pink, brown and black.
"Women usually order bright colors and men tend to choose darker ones such as the Hatta motif," Rohani noted.
The Buginese in South Sulawesi and other ethnic groups of Banjarmasin and Kutai wear sarongs for relaxing at home, conducting prayers and as blankets during sleep. Bugis people also use sarongs for panaik or a marriage proposal. Two pieces will be delivered to the family of the future bride.
"The wedding sarongs cost Rp 750,000. The ones for the proposal ceremony are called ballo seperape or ballo cela," Rahmawati said.
The total sold depend on the events taking place in East Kalimantan Timur.
Rahmawati claims to have sold 300 pieces at the recent National Games, with Rohani selling only 100 pieces. Yet that was a lot -- on ordinary days the average number just reaches 10 to 25. To boost the business Rohani wishes to expand her market to other areas.
"I`m interested in joining exhibitions in other cities," Rohani said. Nurni Sulaiman
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com (August 26, 2008)