Alfred W. Djami describes a project where weavers embroider their portraits, as testimony of their fragile tradition.

Tenun Yang Menubuh is a response to the condition of the ikat weaving ecosystem in Sadi Village, in the Belu Regency, Kakuluk Mesak sub-district, West Timor. Weavers in Sadi Village produce woven cloth not only for their own traditional purposes, but also to meet the economic needs of the family. In the context of weaving and economics, the market is an important element. In Atambua, the capital of Belu Regency, there is already a specialist weavers’ market. In Pasar Baru (the main market) in Atambua there are stalls for woven cloth traders.

From 2016 to 2021, the government encouraged weavers in Belu Regency to produce cloth using natural materials. In recent decades, fabric woven from natural material was not widely produced and was rarely available in the market. Instead, products woven from synthetic materials and dyed with chemical dyes were more common. The production of natural weaving begins with spinning yarn with cotton, through to the dyeing process, which is done with natural materials.

This eco-friendly natural process was once part of the ancestral weaving tradition, but has largely been abandoned since the influx of factory-made synthetic products, from the yarn to the dye. From the stories I’ve heard, the “invasion” of synthetic materials began to ramp up in the 1960s, when the government also promoted the use of synthetic materials in empowerment programs and economic improvement. Consequently, within a certain period of time the process of knowledge transfer related to this natural weaving tradition was “disrupted” by a long hiatus. I found that many weavers in their 50s today witnessed the natural process in their childhood, but have only heard stories, so today there are few, if any, practicing these traditional weaving processes.

Furthermore, especially in several areas in the Belu Regency, including Sadi Village, the community has a history of displacement triggered by the spread of conflict in Timor Leste in the late 1990s to West Timor in Indonesia. In Sadi Village, where the majority of residents are ethnic Kemak residents consisting of five large tribal clusters and 70 tribal houses, their refugee history began during the conflict triggered by the Manufahi Rebellion in 1910-1912. They were displaced again during the Indonesian invasion in 1975 and political conflicts after the polls in 1998-1999. These displacements certainly have a broad impact, socially, culturally, economically and politically. This in turn has an impact on weaving culture, especially in terms of knowledge transfer – the process of preserving weaving traditions that have long before been passed down socially and culturally from generation to generation.

In the natural weaving process, natural materials are a core part of the process of creation. The primary raw material is yarn hand-spun from raw cotton. Nowadays, this is rarely found. Cotton plants are also increasingly rare, making the raw materials hard to come by. The process of turning cotton into yarn also requires specialist skills and a lot of time, knowledge which today tends to exist only in older generations in their 70s or older. Hence, weavers depend on industrial yarn sold in textile shops in Atambua, where prices fluctuate. At the moment, post-pandemic, the price remains high.

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Ermelinda

Alfred W. Djami, Ermelinda, 2022, digital print and yarn embroidery in medium canvas material; 76 x 55 cm

Ermelinda’s daily routine is to manage her household, weave, produce liquor and manage her farm. Ermelinda is the chair of the weaving collective Sutranya, which comprises 15 weavers. Ermelinda has four children. Two have already graduated, one has just started university and one is still in junior high school. Her children’s education is funded by her weaving. Unfortunately, the demand for weaving has fallen, and as a result so has her productivity. At the moment Ermalinda and her husband are more focused on producing liquor and farming; they are temporarily growing peanuts.

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In addition to yarn, weaving also requires dye. For natural dyes, plant-based pigments can still be sourced from the environment around where the weavers live, and in forests surrounding the village. These plants include taum (Indigofera) as the source of indigo colour, bark as the source of brown, turmeric as the source of yellow and mud as the source of black. This natural method requires a longer time than synthetic dyeing, which offers more colour choices and instantaneous results. Synthetic-based dyes are widely sold in textile stores. The price varies depending on the quality. The better quality (stronger and colour-fast), the more expensive.

For natural dye weavers, it takes more complicated processes and more time to get the correct, strong colour. Especially if the weaver is just learning, it takes trial and error to produce the appropriate colour, so weaving natural cloth takes longer than synthetic ones. In the context of the household, longer working times mean naturally dyed ikat weaving must involve husbands and other family. Husbands and children help to roll the yarn and to find the source of colour in the forest around the village. There are also those that go further out. Weavers also form weaving groups so that with mutual assistance (gotong royong) they are able to produce more with an even distribution of tasks. For groups, the main challenges are the distribution of group work to economic management. Many groups are not optimal and even disband because they lack effective management.

In addition to yarn and colour, the identity of a weaving is its motif. For the Kemak ethnicity in Sadi Village, weaving motifs are formed with several working methods/techniques, namely Hutus, Ulotete, Ulunera-Siko, Pa’a.

Furthermore, the Sadi Kemak have eight varieties of weaving motifs. Among them are Nugu, Bebaktara, Kle’u, Gusu, Roba Miki, Bria Taha, Pa’a Hitu, Pa’a Ai Balu. Each of these motifs has a special meaning and function in the traditions of the Sadi Kemak. Knowledge of motifs and how to form them on thread strands is passed down from generation to generation of women. This means that knowledge related to weaving motifs becomes affixed to the weaver and passed on through daily activities at home. The motif becomes the identity of the ethnic group.

For many years, with the government’s encouragement and market support, natural dye weaving has become a source of hope for weaving families. However, since the political process of leadership change, then the COVID-19 pandemic, this natural weaving ecosystem has changed. Market guarantees that were previously always open are becoming more difficult to access. Limitations on people’s mobility also impacts purchasing power. Market forces push the price of natural weaving down. Some of these factors eventually make weavers reluctant to produce natural weaving. Hopes that weaving could support families’ economic needs are being eroded.

Seeing, hearing first-hand weavers’ stories of their increasingly precarious conditions made me think critically. At the market level, weavers as creators tend to be forgotten. The market sees weaving as merely a product to be haggled over for cheaper prices. Because of this, in this “embodied weaving” work, I try to focus on the weaver, not on the weaving. Weaving is the fruit of a long process of reproduction of knowledge, knowledge that exists only in the body: the body of the weaver. This work is also a space (medium) for me as a photographer and weaver to collaborate. Photographic portraits of weavers printed on canvas, to which each weaver then responded with imagery formed with thread. The imagery is close to them as women, as weavers. For me, participatory visual experiments with diverse materials (mixed media) are interesting because they contain narratives that are not singular. Instead, it becomes a work that contains a process of dialogue between me and the weaver. Weaving is relationship, weaving is memory.

Desti Novinta Motu Mau

Alfred W. Djami, Destri, 2022, digital print and yarn embroidery in medium canvas material; 76 x 55 cm

Apart from weaving, Desti teaches mathematics at the Inpres Asulait Primary School. Desti began weaving when she was 18 years old. She gained her weaving knowledge from her mother and grandmother. In response to her portrait, Desti embroidered the “Bebak Tara” motif which she often makes in her weavings. She also added the gecko motif, the body of which she then fills with other motifs such as “Bia Ubu” (Dragonfly) and “Nugu” (horn). Before Covid-19 her large natural-dye weavings would sell for Rp500,000-700,000 ($50 – $70). But now its difficult to sell them because the market has dropped, so she has had to return to weaving with synthetic dyes, which can fetch around Rp300,000 ($30). Her time is divided between weaving and teaching mathematics. At the moment, in a month she can produce one or two weavings with the help of her mother, whereas when the weaving market was strong, she and her mother could produce four natural dye weavings and attract higher prices.

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✿ What is your connection to Rimpang Nusantara – Cemeti Institute?

Hubungan saya dengan Cemeti dimulai pada tahun 2019. Saat itu beberapa perwakilan dari Cemeti mengunjungi Kabupaten Belu bertemu dan melakukan diskusi dengan pelaku-pelaku budaya. Cemeti kemudian mengidentifitasi individu-individu yang sesuai dengan kriteria program “Rimpang Nusantara”.

My relationship with Cemeti began in 2019. At that time some representatives from Cemeti visited Belu Regency to meet and discuss with cultural practitioners. Cemeti then identified individuals who fit the criteria of the “Rimpang Nusantara” program.

Saat itu saya masih tergabung dalam sebuah komunitas budaya yang ada di Kabupaten Belu. Nama komunitas itu adalah JEF (Jalinan Ekokultur Fohorai). Komunitas yang sejak tahun 2018, dengan dukungan Dirjen Kebudayaan merancang event-event festival budaya di kampung-kampung adat. Saya sempat menemani mbak Linda, direktur Cemeti saat itu, jalan-jalan ke desa Sadi, bertemu dengan penenun didesa.

At that time I was a member of a cultural community in Belu Regency. The name of the community is JEF (Jalinan Ekokultur Fohorai). A community that since 2018, with the support of the Director General of Culture, has designed cultural festival events in indigenous villages. I was able to accompany Ms. Linda, the director of Cemeti at the time, on a trip to Sadi village, meeting with weavers in the village.

Waktu berlalu, kemudian cemeti lewat program Rimpang Nusantara memilih salah satu pemuda disini ikut sebagai seniman individu dalam program seni tersebut. Namun dalam proses, seniman terpilih ini mengalami kendala dalam proses dan hampir mengundurkan diri dari program. Merespon kondisi ini, saya mengusulkan agar proses tetap berjalan, namun dengan pendekatan kolektif/kelompok.

Time passed, and then Cemeti through the Rimpang Nusantara program selected one of the youth here to participate as an individual artist in the art program. But in the process, this selected artist experienced obstacles in the process and almost resigned from the program. Responding to this condition, I proposed that the process continue, but with a collective / group approach.

Akhirnya, yang dari satu seniman, berubah menjadi tiga seniman yang sama-sama berproses dalam program ini. Dari ketiga orang ini, masing-masing membuat karya yang merespon tema yang kami bangun dari diskusi-diskusi bersama teman-teman cemeti, yaitu “Ragam Tenun, Ragam Ingatan.

Eventually, what started out as one artist turned into three artists who all participated in the program. From these three people, each of them made a work that responded to the theme that we built from discussions with Cemeti’s friends, namely “Ragam Tenun, Ragam Ingatan”.

Bagi saya, muncul-lah ide untuk membuat serial potret penenun Tenun yang Menubuh. Sebuah karya fotografis yang juga melibatkan subjek-subjek foto (para penenun) dengan cara merespon kembali cetakan foto dengan sulaman benang.

For me, the idea emerged to make a series of portraits “Embodied Weaving”. A photographic work that also involves the subjects of the photos (the weavers) by responding to the photo prints with thread embroidery.

✿ What kind of connection do your weavers have? Are they part of the same family, clan or village? Do they have a leader?

Hubungan saya dengan Desa Sadi bermula sejak tahun 2019. Saat itu saya bertugas mendampingi warga dalam proses persiapan event festival kebudayaan. Dalam proses ini saya sering berkunjung ke desa. Kemudian menginap beberapa hari, berkenalan dengan banyak orang, turut hadir dalam ritual-ritual tahunan yang ada di desa. Seiring waktu, saya menjadi akrab dengan warga. Baik para tokoh adat, anak-anak muda, anak-anak dan ibu-ibu yang umumnya adalah penenun dan petani.

My relationship with Sadi Village began in 2019. At that time, I was tasked with assisting the villagers in the process of preparing for a cultural festival event. During this process, I often visited the village. I stayed for a few days, got to know many people, and attended annual rituals in the village. Over time, I became familiar with the community. Both traditional leaders, young people, children and mothers who are generally weavers and farmers.

Tenun di desa ini memiliki karakter yang khas. Dengan motif-motif yang masing-masing memiliki nama. Saya sudah tertarik dan memotret cerita-cerita tradisi tenun jauh sebelum datang ke desa ini. Praktik-praktik tenun alami (benang alami, warna alami, teknologi handmade) juga menjadi hal menarik bagi saya. Ketertarikan terhadap praktik-praktik tenun yang kaya dengan nilai tradisi dan ramah lingkungan menjadi hal yang menghubungkan saya dengan para penenun ini. Praktik-praktik tenun yang ramah lingkungan makin rentan saat ini. Karena prosesnya yang panjang dan ketersediaan pasarnya yang terbatas, bikin tenun alami terancam di tinggalkan. Ketertarikan anak-anak muda juga makin memudar. Pilihan untuk meneruskan tradisi tenun bukan jadi pilihan yang “sexi” untuk jaminan kehidupan ekonomi di masa depan.

Weaving in this village has a distinctive character. With motifs that each have a name. I had been interested and photographed the stories of weaving traditions long before coming to this village. Natural weaving practices (natural threads, natural colors, handmade technology) were also of interest to me. The interest in weaving practices that are rich in traditional values and environmentally friendly is what connects me with these weavers. Environmentally friendly weaving practices are increasingly vulnerable today. Because of the long process and limited market availability, natural weaving is in danger of being abandoned. The interest of young people is also waning. The choice to continue the weaving tradition is not a “sexy” choice for future economic guarantees.

Di Desa Sadi terdapat 5 rumpun suku besar. Masing-masing dari rumpun ini terdapat rumah-rumah suku dengan nama masing-masing. Rumah-rumah suku ini memiliki masing-masing pemimpin atau ketua suku. Secara umum, rumah-rumah suku ini memmiliki ikatan kekeluargaan. Baik hubungan darah, maupun ikatan kawin mawin.

In Sadi Village, there are five major tribal clans. Each of these clans has tribal houses with their own names. These tribal houses each have their own leader or tribal chief. In general, these tribal houses have family ties. Both blood relations, and intermarriage ties.

Secara umum, desa ini mayoritas penduduknya adalah etnis Kemak. Yang menurut sejarah tutur yang saya dengar dan beberapa bacaan di jurnal-jurnal penelitian sejarah, etnis ini berasal dari beberapa wilayah di Timor Leste yang karena perang, terdapat beberapa kelompok rumah

suku yang mengungsi ke Timor bagian Barat pada tahun 1912. Peristiwa itu dikenang sebagai masa pemberontakan Manufahi atau perang Manufahi.

In general, the majority of the village’s population is of Kemak ethnicity. According to the history I’ve heard and some readings in historical research journals, this ethnicity originated from several areas in Timor Leste where, due to war, several groups of tribal houses fled to West Timor in 1912. This is remembered as “Manufahi rebellion” or “Manufahi war”.

Cerita-cerita terkait riwayat pengungsian yang terjadi di pulau Timor menjadi sangat dekat dengan saya secara personal. Mungkin karena saya sejak tahun 2003 hingga 2011 pernah menjadi relawan kemanusiaan di kamp-kamp pengungsi timor-timur di timor barat. Yang mengungsi karena konflik politik pasca jajak pendapat. Hingga saat ini, saya masih terus mencari narasi-narasi yang terkait dengan riwayat pengungsian/perpindahan yang disebabkan karena perang yang terjadi di Pulau Timor serta pengaruhnya terhadap kebudayaan. Baik itu di wilayah indonesia (Timor Barat), dan  Timor Leste (Timor Timur).

Stories related to the history of refugees on the island of Timor are very close to me personally. Perhaps because from 2003 to 2011 I was a humanitarian volunteer in East Timorese refugee camps in West Timor. Those who fled because of political conflict after the referendum. Until now, I am still looking for narratives related to the history of displacement caused by the war that occurred on the island of Timor and its influence on culture. Both in Indonesia (West Timor), and Timor Leste (East Timor).

Sebagai fotografer, saya juga punya misi pribadi, semacam personal long term project, yaitu mendokumentasikan lapisan-lapisan kehidupan di pulau Timor serta perubahan-perubahan yang terjadi.

As a photographer, I also have a personal mission, a sort of personal long-term project, which is to document the layers of life on the island of Timor and the changes that have taken place.

✿ How do they pass on the skills to the younger generation?

Bagi etnis Kemak di Desa Sadi, sejak anak bayi berumur 1 bulan, tenun ikat menjadi bagian dalam sebuah ritual penting. Ritual “No du Ana Mugu” namanya. Dimana sang bayi akan dipertemukan dengan matahari untuk yang pertama kali. Bayi laki-laki akan dikenalkan dengan perlatan yang dekat dengan laki-laki. Yaitu parang, pacul, linggis/besi gali, tombak berburu, buku, alat tulis dan lain-lain yang berhubungan dengan aktivitas laki-laki. Bayi perempuan akan diperkenalkan dengan alat tenun, peralatan-peralatan dapur, buku, alat tulis dan lainnya yang berhubungan dengan aktifitas perempuan.

The ritual is called “No du Ana Mugu”. Where the baby will be met with the sun for the first time

For the Kemak ethnic group in Sadi Village, since the baby is one month old, ikat weaving becomes part of an important ritual. The ritual is called “No du Ana Mugu”. Where the baby will be met with the sun for the first time. Male babies will be introduced to tools that are close to men. That is, machetes, hoes, crowbars/digging irons, hunting spears, books, stationery and others related to male activities. Female babies will be introduced to looms, kitchen utensils, books, stationery and others related to female activities.

Menenun adalah aktifitas perempuan yang dilakukan sehari-hari dalam keluarga. Transfer pengetahuan terjadi secara “alamiah”. Dimana, anak-anak kecil sering diminta oleh orang tuanya untuk bantu menggulung benang. Menggulung benang adalah salah satu tahapan penting dalam proses menenun. Setelah pandai menggulung benang, akan ada tugas baru untuk tahapan selanjutnya. Dan siklus transfer pengetahuan ini terus berlanjut hingga ke tahap yang bisa dibilang paling rumit, salah satunya yaitu, membentuk motif dengan cara ikat.

Weaving is a daily activity for women in the family. Knowledge transfer happens “naturally”. Young children are often asked by their parents to help roll the thread. Rolling the thread is one of the important stages in the weaving process. After being good at rolling the thread, there will be new tasks for the next stage. And this cycle of knowledge transfer continues until the most complicated stage, one of which is forming motifs by ikat.

Sayangnya pengetahuan-pengetahuan ini cenderung di tinggalkan -dilupakan ketika si anak sudah remaja, dewasa, bersekolah, merantau, bekerja di kantor-kantor.

Unfortunately, this knowledge tends to be left behind and forgotten when the child is a teenager, or adult, goes to school, migrates, and works in offices.

Secara profesi, Menenun (dan bertani) kini menjadi pilihan profesi terakhir. Ketika kerja yang lain juga tidak memberikan kepastian, Tenun dan bertani akan jadi pilihan. Prosesnya akan  berorientasi pada tuntutan pasar yang cepat dan murah. Sehingga pengetahuan, ketrampilan Tenun yang beragam tidak lagi di lestarikan dań dikembangkan sebagai suatu pengetahuan tradisi, melainkan cara-cara instan dengan material-material sintetik akan jadi pilihan “logis” untuk bertahan hidup.

By profession, weaving (and farming) is now the last choice of profession. When other jobs do not provide certainty, weaving and farming will be the choice. The process will be oriented towards the demands of a fast and cheap market. So that knowledge of diverse weaving skills are no longer preserved and developed as a traditional knowledge, but instant methods with synthetic materials will be a “logical” choice for survival.

Novri

Alfred W. Djami, Novri, 2022, digital print and yarn embroidery in medium canvas material; 76 x 55 cm

Novri is still in senior high school; she is the granddaughter of Tata Goru. In Tenun Yang Menubuh, she is the youngest of the weavers. She now lives with her older brother. Her mother and father are living in Malaysia as migrant workers. Novri learned to weave from her grandmother when she was small. Novri’s portrait has also undergone changes in 2024. Initially, it was embroidered with a sample of a “master” weaving motif (in the Kemak tradition, these master motifs are called sanutata, created by her grandmother, Tata Goru. But because this sanutata was inherited from her deceased grandmother, it must be passed down to the next generation of weavers. So the visual details in Novri’s portrait have been changed. It is still tied to the old forms, but has been expanded to represent the fact that the future of Kemak weaving traditions rests on the heads of the younger generation like Novri.

About Alfred W. Djami

Saya adalah seorang suami, fotografer dan petani yang kini berdomisili di Kota Atambua, Kabupaten Belu, Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur. Wilayah Indonesia bagian timur yang berbatasan langsung dengan Timor Leste. Fotografi saya tekuni sejak tahun 2004 ketika saya menjadi relawan yang bekerja di kamp-kamp pengungsi Timor-timur yang ada di Timor Barat. Tahun 2020, pada masa pandemi, saya mulai belajar tentang ilmu pertanian dan cara-cara hidup selaras alam.

I am a husband, photographer and farmer currently residing in Atambua City, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province. The eastern part of Indonesia that borders directly with Timor Leste. I have been practicing photography since 2003 when I was a volunteer working in East Timorese refugee camps in West Timor. In 2020, during the pandemic, I started learning about agriculture and how to live in harmony with nature.

Secara pribadi, saya melakukan dokumentasi fotografis tentang Pulau Timor. Sebuah proyek pribadi yang fokus pada cerita-cerita tentang ragam manusia, sejarah, tradisi – kebudayaan dan lingkungan hidup.  Selain itu, saya juga merekam keseharian saya dan istri. Kami adalah pasangan beda kewarganegaraan, sementara saya beri judul, “Sentimental Days”. Saya berharap suatu saat nanti akan jadi buku foto.

Personally, I do photographic documentation about Timor Island. A personal project that focuses on stories of people, history, tradition – culture and the environment.  In another project, I also recorded the daily lives of my wife and I. We are a couple of different nationalities, and I titled it “Sentimental”. We are a couple of different nationalities, and I titled it, “Sentimental Days”. I hope one day it will become a photo book.

Tahun 2023, saya mulai belajar tentant permakultur dan kini sementara mengembangkan project-project yang berkaitan dengan hal-hal tersebut. Project seni visual, design permakultur site yang nanti akan menjadi laboratirium pengetahuan terkait prinsip-prinsp hidup selaras alam, dan kerja-kerja sosial-lingkungan hidup berbasis komunitas.

In 2023, I started to learn about permaculture and am currently developing projects related to it. Visual art projects, permaculture site design which will later become a knowledge laboratory related to the principles of living in harmony with nature, and community-based social-environmental work.

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embroidery | G36 | Indonesia