Kalimantan, the third-largest island in the world, is one of Indonesia’s last untamed frontiers, Jakarta Globe reported.
Home to some of the world’s oldest rainforests, Kalimantan’s extensive biodiversity and ecosystem provide the island’s Dayak people with their primary source of livelihood and culture.
But many Indonesians remain ignorant of the island’s diverse ecological and cultural resources, particularly its handicrafts. A new exhibition at Jakarta’s Bentara Budaya art center, “The Plaited Arts of the Borneo Rainforest,” is hoping to open minds to the wonders of the island to the north. Borneo is the Western name of Kalimantan.
The exhibition highlights the intricacies of the handicrafts’ plaited design, which transforms everyday items like mats, baskets and other products into works of art. The elaborate handmade patterns and designs are renowned for their all natural materials.
“This cahung [solar hat]that I am making is made of forest pandanus wood. The black coloring is made from a mixture of coal and soot, while the red dye is made from the juice of the rattan tree,” said artisan Veronica Tira, a member of the Dayak Aoheng tribe from the East Kalimantan district of Kutai Kartanegara.
“The hat is coated with a layer of beeswax first before the coloring is applied,” Veronica explained.
But while the materials and painstaking craftmanship of the hat is certainly worthy the art of appreciation, the item is as much about form as it is about function.
“The colorful versions of the cahung are designed to be worn by farmers as they go out to the rice fields to plant paddies” Veronica said.
“However, the plainer versions are worn by women with small children to signify that they are still taking care of them. The women usually start to wearing the cahung when they are pregnant.”
Veronica pointed out that making the cahung takes between three days and a week, depending on the diameter of the hat.
Sellato, an anthropologist who started studying Kalimantan and its people in the 1970s, said the hats are used in various rituals, such as agricultural festivals and life cycle ceremonies like weddings or funerals.
The same high standards are also applied to other items of more symbolic value, like the sahung basket.
“The sahung is an important item in traditional ceremonies. Each of them have a distinctive motif, as they bear a family’s crest,” said artisan Limpang Ingan, a member of the Kenyah Dayak tribe in East Kalimantan’s Sungai Bahau district.
“Aside from bearing the family crest, the sahung’s symbols are designed to ensure the descendants’ well-being and good health,” Limpang said, adding that the sahung is made of young bamboo shoots and is then colored black from coal.
Sellato, added that the Dayak also use various woods and shrubs throughout their plaited crafts, such as rattan, palm, reeds, grasses and ferns.
Aside from the sahung, the Dayak are also known for other basket designs, whose motifs are just as varied as their purpose.
Made for uses ranging from storing and planting seeds, rice and fish the baskets are well adjusted to their purposes due to their ergonomic design.
Manufactured from woods like rattan and bamboo, the baskets feature interlocking keys and a variety of orthogonal patterns that seamlessly blend together.
The Dayaks’ have also taken the design of mats to new heights. Their plait work on these everyday items is just as exquisite as any form of tapestry.
The mats made of rattan or pandanus have several functions, ranging from drying paddies to meetings in the tribal longhouse. Their geometric designs and intricate patterns are reminiscent of exquisite details found in medieval mosques throughout the Middle East.
Other items featured in the exhibition include baby carriers, seat mats, as well as small baskets to store betel nuts.
“No other country in the world can manufacture these handicrafts. They cannot be made by machine,” said John H. McGlynn, co-founder of cultural preservation group the Lontar Foundation.
“The handicrafts used are made from organic materials. Traditional [Dayak] artisans seem to predate surrealism, modernism and other abstract art movements, without putting their name or ego on them,” he explained.
But while the traditional arts continue to thrive and affirm the tribes’ identity, they are still affected by the inroads of modernization.
“Interest in traditional arts among young people is still low, and that is a cause of concern for me” Veronica said.
“They are still too carried away with cell phones and other gadgets. As far as they are concerned, traditional handicrafts ought to be left to old people.”
Veronica added that she will continue to make traditional handicrafts, as it keeps her close to her roots and is her primary source of income.
The event is sponsored by French oil company Total E&P.
In her foreword to the exhibition catalogue, Total president director and general manager Elisabeth Proust said the company was trying to promote the preservation and revitalization of Kalimantan’s traditional arts and crafts through its Craft Conservation Program, which it launched through its Bhakti Total Bagi Indonesia Foundation.
Total E&P also sponsored the book “Plaited Arts From the Borneo Rainforest,” published by the Lontar Foundation and edited by anthropologist Bernard Sellato.
Plaited Arts of the Borneo Rainforest
Through Sunday
Bentara Budaya Jakarta
Jalan Palmerah Selatan 17
Central Jakarta
Tel. 021 548 3008