KABAKIL by Edward Hutabarat: An Inspiration from the East

When visiting Sumba, in East Nusa Tenggara Province, about 20 years ago, Edo could not help but fell in love with almost every aspect of the island, from the traditional market, nature, children, foods, to ceremonies. But, as a fashion designer and cultural practitioner, he was mostly amazed by Sumbanese traditional ikat weaving.

Ikat weaving is commonly defined as a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. Unlike in the past in which traditional woven fabric was mostly used as part of religious ceremonies, today people use the fabric in daily activities and in other important life events such as natal ceremonies, weddings and funerals. The fabric is also used to show one’s social status.

Falling in love with Sumba has led Edo to frequently visit the tourist destination, mingling with local people, including the weaving artists, who often invited him to attend important traditional ceremonies in which traditional woven fabrics are commonly used. “To me, Sumba’s ikat weaving is more than just reflecting the importance of traditional values. But it’s a cloth of civilisation because it’s made to complete a ceremony and every piece has its own meaning,” Edo told Indonesia Design.

The use of woven fabrics for religious ceremonies, especially by adherents of MARAPU, local original belief, remains common until today with animal motifs, mainly buffalos, pigs, horses and chickens commonly found in the woven fabric designs. This has made the ikat weaving highly special to Edo.