oup of threads, and then slip the gold and silver threads in it. Another theory suggested that it was constructed from the combination of two terms; tusuk (prick) and cukit (pick) that combined as sukit, modified further as sungki and finally songket. Some says that the word songket was derived from songka, a Palembang cap in which gold threads was first woven.
The Malay word menyongket means ‘to embroider with gold or silver threads’. Songket is a luxury product traditionally worn during ceremonial occasions as sarong, shoulder cloths or head ties and tanjak, a headdress songket. Songket were worn at the courts of Kingdoms in Sumatra especially the Srivijaya, as the source and the origin of Malay culture in Southeast Asia.
Songket is traditionally considered an exquisite, luxurious and prestigious traditional fabric, only worn for special occasions, religious festivals, and traditional social functions. It has become a required garment for brides and grooms for their weddings, as in the traditional wedding costumes of Palembang, Minangkabau and Bali.
Today, songket is mostly worn in traditional settings as traditional costumes for weddings or any traditional ceremonies. Several efforts has been conducted to promote songket as a popular fabric for fashion, either locally and abroad. During the Dutch colonial era, West Sumatran songket were exhibited in the Netherlands. The Sawahlunto Songket Carnival was held in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra in August 2015. The songket carnival featured a parade and exhibition with participants from numbers of songket studios across West Sumatra. The carnival, held on 28 August 2015, was recorded in the Indonesian Museum of Records for the most people wearing songket at a same time, with 17,290 people wearing Silungkang songket during the event.
Several exhibitions has been held to preserve and promote the traditional art of songket making, such as the songket exhibition held in 2015 by Jakarta Textile Museum, which showcased around 100 pieces of songket from various Indonesian provinces.
Today, songket has become a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion designers who draw ideas from this traditional art.
Pelangi refers to the patterns made by resist-dyed dots. Before the dyeing process can take place, the cloth must be bleached first. Then according to the complexity of the pattern to be dyed, a variety of methods are used to mark the design on the cloth. To achieve symmetry and save time, fine cloth is folded into two, four and as many as eight times. The pattern is marked out by nails. The cloth is dampened and then pressed on the nails.
The method used now a days is for the designer to draw or block print the design on the cloth. The tier then has to pinch a series of dots along the line, often using a specially long implement that slips over the finger of the left hand. The pinched dots are individually bound tightly with a continuous thread to ensure no seepage of dye. The cotton binding keeps the dye from reaching that part of the cloth, so that when it is removed a small white circle is revealed. Within this simple method, many variations are possible.
The tip of the cloth maybe left unbound to give a colored center to the circle. The cloth may be dyed before tying, thus giving a wider variety of colored dots. Bits of padding may be inserted into the circle before tying to create a variety of shapes resembling lozenges, cowry shells and squares.
After the tying is complete, the dying process has to be carefully planned. It must start with the lightest color first, usually yellow. The cloth is immersed in a dye bath and then dried. It is then returned to the tier for ties to be made on the dots which are to remain yellow. At this stage, individual dots can be applied in other colors which are then concealed by tying. The cloth is then dyed in deeper shades, notably, green, red or purple. Sometimes, larger tied patterns and highlights may be dabbed with a color-soaked pad by hand. Dyes can also be discharged or eliminated by immersing in a solution of caustic soda ash.
It takes 