Sarawak brings songket legacy to the world
KUCHING: Sarawak is bringing its songket legacy to the forefront, specifically to the world through the ‘Inovasi Warisan Sarawak: Songket dan Keringkam' (Sarawak Heritage Innovation: Songket and Keringkam) project.
Deputy State Secretary and the project chairperson Datu Dr Sabariah Putit said this was one of ways to uphold the songket and keringkam legacy so that their traditional uniqueness could be preserved and cherished by future generations.
“In addition to expos and tourism and culture events, efforts to protect and preserve Sarawak's treasures are also being expanded through the Songket Weaving and Keringkam Embroidery Technical Training Programme at the Centre of Technical Excellence (Centexs).
“This endeavour also provides exposure towards effective marketing, commercialisation, research, publication and management of copyright and intellectual property rights to songket and keringkam industry players in Sarawak and overseas,” she said at the ‘Malam Persona Songket and Keringkam Antarabangsa 2018' event involving Sarawak, Brunei and Indonesia, which was declared open by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg here on Wednesday.
Sabariah said the ‘Inovasi Warisan Sarawak: Songket dan Keringkam' project also came up with a Sarawak Heritage Innovation website platform aimed at promoting songket and keringkam products in the ecommerce sector.
According to her, the project, where Abang Johari's wife Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Juma'ani Tuanku Bujang serves is the patron, is a joint venture between Old Kuching Kampung Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Tun Abdul Razak Teachers Training Institute, and Centexs with Sarawak songket and keringkam community since June 2017.
Those who wish to learn more about the rich history of the beautiful handwoven Sarawak songket and keringkam embroidery could now turn to a coffee table book entitled ‘Songket and Keringkam: Warisan Melayu Sarawak.'
Written by Suhana Sarkawi, Dr Dayang Hanani Abang Ibrahim and Dr Nadianatra Musa, the book was launched by Abang Johari during the ‘Songket & Keringkam Antarabangsa 2018' event.
In the book, the uniqueness of Sarawak songket and keringkam embroidery unfolds an in-depth study which includes the history, application, motifs, philosophy and product innovations.
Sabariah said this innovative project was aimed at preserving the traditional and unique textiles to ensure that the future generation will appreciate this heritage and that it would not be forgotten.
‘Songket and Keringkam: Warisan Melayu Sarawak' is published by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and copyrighted by the Sarawak government.
During the event, guests were also treated to a fashion show, where traditional songket and keringkam textiles were transformed into stylish contemporary outfits.
Besides Juma'ani, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Minister of Toursim, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Indonesian ConsulGeneral in Kuching Yonny Tri Prayitno and Brunei ConsulGeneral in Sarawak Pengiran Kartini Pengiran Tahir were also present at the function.