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Klungkung's Kaleidoscope of color
Dynamic weavings: Rang Rang is a geometrical weaving developed in Nusa Penida, an island off Klungkungâs coast
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Dynamic weavings: Rang Rang is a geometrical weaving developed in Nusa Penida, an island off Klungkung's coast.
Bali's art markets dotted across its tourist hubs offer a giddying array of products, from carvings and paintings to frocks and soft furnishings. Hawkers push their wares from tiny kiosks nestled shoulder to shoulder in the densely packed market spaces.
For shoppers, there is the momentary joy of haggling over a souvenir that may well end up collecting dust, rather than as an inspirational memento of their Bali holiday.
While great fun, these art markets can be claustrophobic with the sheer volume of the products on offer; sweat pours into eyes and between shoulder blades as shoppers jostle to score a bargain, but there is an alternative.
A half hour drive north from Ubud stands the Klungkung textile market. Cool breezes wash through the market's lower level central space and kiosks are set well apart each offering high quality textiles from many of Indonesia's best known weaving centers.
Here shoppers stroll from stall to stall and the only difficulty is in deciding what to buy from the stunning choices on offer.
What makes the difference between visiting this market and others is that it was not established as a tourist market, but rather a market focusing on Klungkung's weaving industry that supplies the textiles worn in many Hindu ceremonies.
Stall holder, Ni Wayan Wahyuni is surrounded by hand-loomed songket, with their silver and gold threads, batik from Solo and Yogyakarta that have been hand waxed and dyed, the local endak weavings and the tie-dyed silk or cotton jumputan with their sunbursts of color.
'We have had the shop here since the very early days of this market. My mother-in-law began the business before I was born, back in 1972. So this market has been here for a very long time,' says Wahyuni.
Local focus: Klungkung textiles market focusses on local customers from across Bali.
In its early days the market was also the center for trade in livestock, fruits and vegetables and the silver work, which is still carried out on the market's upper level.
'My mother in-law was here before the renovation when it was a wet market as well. Now it is a specialist textile market that also sells the tools used in ceremonies. Most of our shoppers are locals coming from all over Bali, but some foreigners stop by when they visit Kerta Gosa palace across the road,' says Wahyuni.
And it is this focus on quality fabrics, silver and gold for the local market that marks the contrast between Klungkung market and art markets targeting tourists.
Within the market's cool halls a smattering of holiday makers relish the kaleidoscope of textiles on display. Feng shui practitioner, Perrie Burton is hunting out fabrics and bowls for an upcoming feng shui retreat in Ubud. She has headed to Klungkung based on the market's reputation for quality.
'I've got a retreat for my feng shui students, so I am creating a sacred space and I knew this market offered beautiful textiles,' says the Australian from Queensland who has bought songket tapestry, rich in silver and gold thread work and silver water dishes to be used in her feng shui practice.
Klungkung has long been known to Australian Annie Hall who stopped by the market during a Bali holiday. 'I have been coming here since the 1970s and a friend reminded me about this market, so we came up from Sanur today. It has always been noted for its very good fabrics,' says the Sydney-sider who has purchased tie-dyed jumputan and the dramatically geometric Rang Rang weaving of Nusa Penida, an island off Klungkung's coast.
Room to move: The breezy halls of the Klungkung textile market make shopping a pleasure.
While the market offers textiles from as far away as Sumba, Sumatra and Java, stall holder Jero Citra specializes in textiles made in Klungkung only.
'I only sell fabric from Klungkung, because our area has long been a center of weaving. We make endak and songket. Endak is my favorite fabric because I weave it myself,' says the 41-year-old whose client base is predominantly local.
'We also have shoppers from Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia when they holiday here in Bali. They enjoy our most important fabric, which is songket,' says Citra, adding that prices for this kind of tapestry start at around US$130 and can reach into the thousands of dollars for the finest silk and gold thread tapestry, which takes great skill and many months to weave.
The whirring buzz of sewing machines can be heard alongside several of the market's stalls as seamstresses sew kebaya and sarongs from freshly purchased fabrics. 'People can have their fabrics made right on the spot,' says Komang Ariani as she zips though a sarong hem.
Klungkung market is a must for anyone interested in textiles, but it is also an opportunity to discover the richness of Balinese culture woven into every colorful thread and shared by stall holders in the cool halls of this traditional market.
Spoiled for choice: Klungkung market offers a stunning array of Indonesian textiles.
Kaleidoscope of color: Klungkung market is a feast for the senses with its songket, batiks and endak weavings.
' Photos by J.B. Djwan
