Traditional Craft of South Sumatera

Since long before, South Sumatera has been known with its traditional crafts like weaving, plaiting, wood carving, ceramics and metal-craft. Hereditary, these art craft has not change much. It is caused by the fact that most of those products are utilized as equipments in the adapt ceremonies.

It has been mentioned about the tradition to decorate the adapt-house with wood-carving. This wood carving art does not only produce home decoration, but also furniture. Characteristics of South Sumatra wood carving art, especially that of Palembang, is the density and excessiveness of the decoration with see through technique using plant-motives with symbolism. The decorative impression is more conspicuous due to the application of different colours on the decoration. The most popular colours are gold-coating and red (lac), a tradition which supposed to be originated from Chinese decorative art.

Along the development of wood carving art, the songket-weaving art has also been developed, especially in Palembang where it later further expanded to the Meranjat OKI region. The songket-weaving art has been known already since the Sriwijaya period, when silk and gold yarns were used. The plant decorative motives seen at the woodcarving decoration appear again at the songket decorations. According to the applied decorative motives and their designs, several names of songket weaving are known as Songket Lepus, Songket Naga Berdaung, Songket Bunga jatuh, Songket Bunga Cina, Songket Bertabut, Songket janda berhias, etc. The songket weaving are available in the form of sarong, shawl and headcloth. In latest development songket weaving are produced for various outfits of divans, back and seat of chairs, table coats, etc.

Table - Wood Carving, Palmebang

Ceramic art of South Sumatra has been know since former times having produced daily necessity equipments like pitchers, cooking-pots, boilers, water-barrels, braziers, water-pitchers, money-boxers, etc.

Kayu Agung city is a centre of ceramic art beside Poya Kabung village which produces especially decoration ceramics. In the latest development, in Mentok and Sungailiat (Bangka) a sort of porcelain ceramics has been produced as industrial article. This fact is supported by the availability of high grade ceramic material in that area.

The plait-craft tradition started as side production efforts for own consumption. Bamboo and rattan are the main material to produce plaitware as baskets, mats, hats, dish-cover, bags, etc.

The Payung and Kelapa sub-districts of Bangka are well-known of their platcraft producing Kopiah (cap) made of resam, a sort of fern. Acquainted with foreign craft products and stimulated by the needs to sell, then furniture of rattan are produce, as chairs, beds, lamp-shades, book-selves, buffets, etc.

For the outfit of adapt wedding, beside songket weaving articles, the crafts of metal-smiths are also needed, which manufacture ankle and armbraceletsm brest-decorations, shoulder-decorations, belts, rings, hair-decorations (crown) etc. Materials used therefore are gold, silver, or brass blending with hammering, carving, shaping and welding technique. The Penganggon and the Gede decorations are outfits for adapt wedding, which demonstrate traditional decorative-art beauty-value being produced in the region of Palembang. The precious metal smithy art tradition has gradually disappeared. Palembang, the city once know as a centre of activity of this art, there is today rare of craftmen producing outfits for traditional wedding. Meranjat OKI is also known as a centre of gold-craft, beside being a centre of songket weaving, as mentioned before.

MASK OF MALANG

Some collection of Malang masks for Mask Dance performance

Mask (topeng) as a product of fine arts is not only used as decoration, but also as the equipment of dance and theatre in some performances. In Malang, to be exact in the Kedung Monggo village, Pakisaji sub-distric and in the Jabung village, Tumpang sub-distric, lots of Topeng are made to use for the performance of an opera or “wayang topeng”.

The mask of Malang (topeng Malang) has special characteristics, such as their thick wood of randu wood (capok tree) or “cangkring”, which is rather dark in colour, with a carving on the forehead which is specially bulging, fashioned with a square chin and high cheek- bones. Some mask needs some ritual to make the carving mask has a magic power.

Decoratively, Malang masks are unique. They are different from any other mask art found in Java. There are five typical colurs used to deco rate the masks. The red colour symbolizes courage, the black colour symbolizes determined ambitions, the yellow colour symbolizes wisdom, the white colour indicates purified character and the green colour indicates peace.

The form of its throne and the expression of the mask especially the construction of “gelung” and “janang” and the eyes are not far different with the thrones of wayang on the relief of Jajagu temple. This is not surprising since the Jabung is located near Jajagu temple.

MALANG MASK DANCE

Malang Mask Dance (Wayang Topeng Malangan)

Malang is famous for its dances. The topeng performance has a strong dramatic value, its performance pattern is good, while the garment music have special characteristics. The carving mask usually made to be used in an opera or "wayang topeng". What is interesting about the mask dance is that all the dancers representing some characters wear masks.

Klono is the evil archrival of Gunungsari and Panji Mask Dance Drama

The characters in Malang theatrical mask dance are 64 and they play the roles of 64 figures in Panji tales. As in wayang kulit, the story is narrated and sung by a dhalang, who recreates the stories passed orally to him from generation to generation. The dancers do not speak themselves with the one exception of the clown, Patrajaya, who wears a half-mask allowing him to speak. While the other dancers move with grace and style, Patrajaya plays the fool: knock kneed, buck teeth, an old cloth tied loosely around his head, he provides the comic relief. New stories are improvised from time to time and old ones built upon to create something new.

* Find out how the traditional mask dance of Malang is staged at the Padepokan Seni Mangun Dharma in Tulusbesar village, Tumpang Sub district, Malang.
Location: Tumpang Sub Distric , Malang