Weaving A Living In Bangka

Sendy weaving cual with a loom at the home business run by her mother, Maslina, who employs 40 weavers for her business. (Photo: Markus Junianto Sihaloho, JG)

Pangkalpinang, Bangka - The island of Bangka, which sits off the eastern coast of Sumatra, is known for its cual cloth, a traditional textile woven with bright, bold silk and thread.

The cloth is produced with the same techniques used for ikat, a similar Malaysian cloth that is dyed and woven; tie-dyed fabrics, which are prevalent in eastern Indonesia; and songket, which is embroidered with gold thread and can be found in Palembang, South Sumatra.

If not for the efforts of 60-year-old Maslina Yazid, however, cual might have been forgotten.

The cloth is believed to have made its first appearance on the island in the 16th century, and Bangka still had plenty of weavers at the turn of the 20th century. But after World War I, the number of those producing high-quality cual out of silk and gold thread began to dwindle, due to a scarcity of materials.

The cloth was traditionally exchanged in marriage ceremonies between the bride‘s and groom‘s families, and pieces were often handed from generation to generation as valued heirlooms.

The cloth is also used to make women‘s sarongs and traditional Malay attire for men, such as shirts, trousers and tanjak, a headpiece.

Maslina, who runs a small souvenir shop out of her home on Jalan Sungailiat in Pangkalpinang, also manages the sole cual production center in town, along with her daughter, Sendy, and 40 weavers.

“After the war, my family were the only ones who were producing the traditional, handmade cual cloth,” Sendy said.

Maslina‘s shop is also a museum, where several centuries-old cual cloths are displayed, along with pieces bearing 20 traditional motifs.

It took Malina three years of traveling from one village to another in both Bangka and Belitung to seek out the old cloths and reproduce their patterns, such as the white egret and the kenanga flower motifs.

A piece of cual can take weeks or even months to dye and weave. Gold threads are also woven into the cloth, giving a shimmery ornamental frame to the mostly red, purple and dark blue pieces.

Maslina‘s dedication to preserving the traditional craft earned her an Upakarti Award, which is given for the promotion of small and medium enterprises. The award was presented to her by Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta last year.

Maslina and her cual have also won various other awards and distinctions from several ministries, such as the award for best woven product in 2007, given by the Coordinating Ministry for People‘s Welfare. Since 1997, she has trained more than 100 people in the art of cual production.

She said that she had sold cual to both Indonesia‘s first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, and Vice President Jusuf Kalla‘s wife, Mufidah Kalla. “Ani paid Rp 19 million [$1,880] for one of my pieces,” she said.

Maslina‘s cloths usually fetch from Rp 150,000 to Rp 19 million apiece, depending on the complexity of the motifs and the quality of the materials.

“The most expensive cual has a motif that isn‘t easy to create. I need at least three months to make such cloth,” she said.

Bangka-Belitung provincehas long been a center for tin mining and also has a thriving pewter industry. Pewter goods, including goblets, plates and ornaments, are readily available in Pangkalpinang, as well as in other locations on the islands.

But compared to more developed tourist destinations in the country, such as Bali and Yogyakarta, the choice of souvenirs that visitors can take home is limited.

According to local businessman Johnnie Sugiarto, this is because local residents prefer to work in rubber plantations or in tin mining, as opposed to earning a living from the tourism industry.

“In Bali and Yogyakarta, people have a good attitude to handicrafts because they are aware that their lives depend very much on tourism,” Johnnie said.

In an attempt to develop the industry in the province, Johnnie sent some Bangka residents to Yogyakarta to learn how to produce souvenirs.

“I paid them and provided them with all the tools needed and a workshop to start a business here, but all of them gradually returned to their old jobs in tin mining,” he said.

Bangka-Belitung Governor Eko Maulana Ali said he was considering a plan to hire professional artisans from Yogyakarta or Bali to work in Bangka. He said he might also invite people from outside Bangka to open souvenir stores in the area.

“The only way to make Bangka locals aware of this positive opportunity is by showing them an example,” Eko said. “So we will show them the positives of the tourism industry, things that can improve their standard of living.” Markus Junianto Sihaloho

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