Kuala Lumpur - AFTER seven long months of hard work, the latest effort for the Portrait of Hope project culminated in a charity gala society ball on Aug 5. The third in a series included a book entitled Portrait of Hope: Inspiring lives through Songket, written by the doyen of hairstylists, Winnie Loo. The book was also sold at the gala.
The creme de la creme of society was featured in the coffee table book and they had to pay for that privilege. Tables were also sold for the gala, hosted by the JW Marriot Hotel. From the proceeds, RM450,000 was raised for the Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
A cheque for that amount was presented to the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah in her capacity as the patron of the foundation, which also bears her name. The charity foundation was set up in June last year to help underprivileged communities, particularly women, reap the full benefits of their rich cultural heritage to gain reasonable and sustainable income from cottage industries based on local handicraft. The initial focus will be on songket in Terengganu but the scope of the foundation`s activities will not necessarily be confined to that state.
It seeks to play a pivotal role in stimulating and developing cottage industries while preserving local handicraft and heritage, working with other government agencies and non-governmental organisations. The crafts being looked at are textiles, metal-based, forest-based and earthen-based works. Besides bringing immediate and short-term benefits, programmes that encourage design adaptation, innovation, technology and skill transfer, quality enhancement, commercialisation of local crafts and crafts that are sustainable would be set up.
Songket belongs to the brocade family of textiles. The term songket comes from the Malay word menyongket, (which means to embroider). Although the beginnings of songket weaving in the peninsula remain obscure, historical accounts point to a long tradition of weaving, stimulated no doubt by the flourishing trade that had been going on between the East and the West since at least the 13th and 14th centuries.
The place of origin of songket weaving also remains a mystery. Some Kelantanese believe that the technique came from the north, around Cambodia and Siam, and then travelled south, via Patani to Kelantan and then, to Terengganu. However, the belief in Terengganu is that songket weaving was introduced from India via the Sumatran kingdoms of Palembang and Jambi, where it probably originated during the time of Sri Vijaya.
At the gala dinner, there were performances by violinist Dennis Lau, tenor Chin Yung and soprano Mei Leng. But the highlight of the night was a fashion show that introduced haute couture creations from Melvin Lam. The pieces were contemporary wear that weaved (no pun intended) songket elements into the design. It showed, besides its traditional usage, how songket can still be relevant in the fashion industry today. By S.S. YOGA
Source: http://thestar.com.my (September 04, 2008)
