"As we know, batik already has a legal standing in the state administration. We really need the state to support cultural heritage that still exists, such as songket and woven cloth," KADIIFA Chairperson Anna Mariana stated here on Wednesday.
At the press conference of the Songket Nusantara Festival & Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Expo 2023 in Jakarta, Mariana remarked that woven cloth and songket are the only craft to be found in almost all regions in the archipelago.
Several types of woven fabrics, include ikat (dyeing) weaving, songket, ulos of the Batak people, Lampung's tapis, geringsing weaving, double ikat, Balinese endek, and ATBM (non-machine or human-made) woven fabric.
The history of woven fabric in Indonesia traces back one thousand years. During the kingdom era, before the rupiah currency came into existence, woven fabric was used as a barter item.
Songket was used in exchange for gold coins owned by kings, queens, and nobles.
KADIIFA, with support from the Home Affairs Ministry, the Jakarta Provincial Government, and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Kadin), will request President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to inaugurate the Weaving and Songket Day.
The inauguration is scheduled during the Songket Nusantara Festival & MSME Expo 2023 that will be held on September 2-7, 2023, at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Complex, Senayan, Jakarta.
"The purpose of the festival's implementation is to protect and preserve the traditional cultural heritage not only in the form of ceremonies but also through legal recognition," Mariana remarked.
KADIIFA also called on the government to grant Intellectual Property Rights (HAKI) to unique woven motives in 38 provinces and 514 districts and cities in the country.
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Translator: Kuntum R, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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