The Background and Characteristics Of The Baduy Woven Fabric

Woven cloth is one of Indonesia's cultural heritages which is the identity of the ancestors. Several regions in Indonesia have their own woven fabrics, namely songket, ulos, and the name of the tie is already worldwide.

In Banten Province, it turns out that there is also a woven cloth that is gaining popularity, namely the Baduy woven cloth. The handicrafts of the Kanekes community are unique because they have a strong background of local wisdom which further reinforces their distinctive features as the traditional cloth of the Baduy community.

Every girl who is born in Baduy, since childhood, has been instilled a high level of discipline regarding the weaving habits of their ancestors.

By carrying out weaving activities, girls in Baduy try to preserve the customary rules that they have passed down from generation to generation to their children and grandchildren.

One of the uniqueness of the Baduy woven fabric is its creation, which is said to be assisted by nature. The people there have long been known for their life that respects the surrounding environment.

According to local people's beliefs, the manufacture of Baduy woven fabrics does not originate with thread capitalization or collecting fabric from cotton, but from planting cotton seeds to fruit.

After it bears fruit, the maker can spin it into yarn using a simple wooden spinning tool, until it is knitted into the desired fabric shape.

The process of weaving this Baduy woven cloth can only be done by women.

The myth that developed in Kanekes states that when men weave, their behavior will change like women. There are even those who say that this change in temperament can also occur just by touching it.

In addition to its strong cultural values, Baduy woven fabrics also have a variety of distinctive traditional motifs.

This distinctive characteristic can be seen from the various colors of the available motifs such as poleng paul, murasadam, pepetikan, herang nuts, maghrib, claw hurang, susuatan, to suat songket.

The Head of the Industry Section of the Lebak Regency Industry and Trade Service (Disperindag), Sutisna, revealed that the various traditional motifs made the urang kanekes cloth successfully penetrated international markets such as Asia and even Europe to Great Britain and Germany.