WNAM MONITORING: The Balanga Museum of Central Kalimantan is showcasing 18 collections at the Traditional Nusantara Fabric Exhibition at Sang Nila Utama Museum in Pekanbaru, Riau.
“This exhibition aims to promote traditional fabrics from Central Kalimantan,” head of the Balanga Museum, Hartini Titin, said in a statement released by her office on Saturday.
According to her, the 18 collections include traditional men’s clothing made from nyamu bark, as well as a pair of Dayak Ngaju wedding attire for a groom and bride made from velvet, along with sumping and lawung.
The collections also include a contemporary shawl bearing the Batang Garing motif, and a batik shirt and batik skirt given by the 6th governor of Central Kalimantan, Soeparmanto and his wife, which were used in the weddings of their children in the Dayak Ngaju Custom.
The fabric collections showcase beautiful patterns of Dayak culture, such as flora and life forms, that are full of symbolic meanings, Titin said.
She highlighted that traditional fabrics from Central Kalimantan have their unique characteristics, be it in terms of their processing or their motifs.
“This fabric exhibition is the proper platform to show our diverse cultural wealth to the public, it is also full of noble values,” she added.
The exhibition is expected to make Central Kalimantan traditional fabrics better known and drum up demand for the fabrics among the wider community — not only as cultural products but also as high-value art products, Titin informed.
Besides traditional Indonesian fabrics, the exhibition is also showcasing the process of weaving Riau Songket fabric and will visit several historical places in Riau.
Thirty-three provincial museums are showcasing 250 collections at the exhibition, which started on August 28, 2024, and will end on September 16.
