Preservation of Traditional Ikat Ulos by Motif Design Development and Natural Dye Utilization in Muara District, North Tapanuli

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.211228.012How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sustainability; Traditional Ulos Ikat; Motif Textile Design; Natural Dyes; Muara District

Abstract

Ulos Traditional Fabric is one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Indonesia originating from North Sumatra. Muara is one of the sub-districts, precisely in North Tapanuli district, where most of the population are Ulos weavers. One of the typical Ulos that is only made in the Muara area is Ulos Ikat Harungguan, or also called Raja Ulos because all kinds of Ulos motifs are in it and are not repeated. In the past, weavers used natural dyes from plants in the environment. However, since Ulos cloth has become a commercial item, its price is not competitive with Ulos made with synthetic dyes which are made in a shorter time than the use of natural dyes. Therefore, weavers abandon the culture of using natural dyes in weaving. This causes the traditional Ikat Ulos cloth to experience a decline in cultural value and the use of synthetic dyes can harm the surrounding environment. This research was conducted as an effort to preserve the traditional Ulos cloth which has cultural and traditional values and is environmentally friendly. The research method is carried out with an exploratory qualitative approach. In addition, participatory methods are also carried out by involving weavers from Muara in making the final product of Ikat Ulos fabric. The findings of this study include new motif designs inspired by objects in the environment around Muara, namely whirlpools from Lake Toba, Kecombrang flowers and open coffee, and Gorga motifs. In addition, new colors were found as a result of the exploration of cotton yarn with several plants that can be used as natural dyes, namely a mixture of Sappan wood and mahogany bark, Indigofera leaves, jackfruit tree wood, and onion skin. In conclusion, the preservation of traditional Ikat Ulos fabrics can be done by innovating on fabric products. These innovations can be pursued, among others, by developing the motif design of Ulos and the application of natural dyes that produce various colors, thereby increasing the possibility of selling Ulos to a wider target market.

Copyright

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Asyifa Rachmadina Jiniputri
AU  - Ratna Panggabean
AU  - Dian Widiawati
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/12/28
TI  - Preservation of Traditional Ikat Ulos by Motif Design Development and Natural Dye Utilization in Muara District, North Tapanuli
BT  - Proceedings of the ICON ARCCADE 2021: The 2nd International Conference on Art, Craft, Culture and Design (ICON-ARCCADE 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 95
EP  - 103
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211228.012
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.211228.012
ID  - Jiniputri2021
ER  -