T

ourism in West Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has reportedly continued to thrive thanks to its traditional products '€” especially tenun ikat woven cloths '€” and the inclusion of Komodo National Park as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

The West Manggarai capital of Labuan Bajo, has seen a particular presence of tenun ikat revitalization projects: The Sunspirit for Justice and Peace and the Baku Peduli are two NGOs in the regency concerned with the preservation of tenun ikat.

The city now has the Baku Peduli Tenun Ikat Gallery on Jl. Trans-Flores in Watu Langkas village, Komodo district.

The gallery has 17 kinds of tenun ikat on display from 17 regencies across NTT that feature diverse designs, motifs and techniques.

According to researcher Cyprianus Jehan Paju Dale, the gallery was established to revive the livelihood of tenun ikat weavers as well as to preserve the exclusive traditional fabric. The gallery offers young people an environment to learn more about the traditional textile.

Tenun ikat, Cyprianus said, is just as much about the process of making the fabric '€” which requires a high level of skill, technique, spirit and work ethic '€” as it is about the fabric.

The motifs in the design depict history, philosophy, identity and the relationship of the community in NTT with each other, nature and God. The motifs are also related to aspects of community life.

Cyprianus explained that generally the process included three methods '€” ikat or futu; dedang; and songket or lotis or sotis.

The ikat technique is created by tying the threads vertically before dying them to get the intended motifs. The process is followed by weaving vertical threads with horizontal threads. The technique is generally carried out in Timor, Sumba and eastern Flores.

In the dedang technique, the dyed thread is combined during the weaving process to create the desired motif, which only appears on the outer side of the fabric.

Such a technique is usually carried out by weavers in the western part of Flores, such as East Manggarai, Manggarai, West Manggarai, Ngada and parts of Nagekeo, while the songket/lotis/sotis technique is similar to the dedang method, but the motif appears on both sides of the fabric. The technique is carried out across the province.

'€œThe NTT tenun ikat fabric is dominated by basic colors, such as black, brown and red. The patterns are usually bright and in line with nature,'€ said Cyprianus.

The natural dying method uses extracts from roots, bark and leaves. The available patterns and motifs reflect the local philosophy and religion.

'€œTraditionally, the NTT tenun ikat fabric is worn daily and during cultural and traditional events,'€ said Cyprianus.

The fabric is now also worn as an accessory, decoration and even incorporated in contemporary fashion.

Besides tenun ikat, the gallery also sells other local products from the Greater Manggarai area, such as Roslin red rice, Robusta coffee beans, palm sugar and local Manggarai produce, such as Rebok corn.