SONGKET

Here's the fact. The songket industry is facing a slow death as there's no new blood to take over the trade.It appears the number of weavers in the state (and elsewhere like Kelantan) are dwindling. The songket industry also depends on other specialised participants-pattern makers, the loom (and its components) constructors and even those that dye the yarn-that are also dwindling in numbers.

If you ever watched an artisan at work weaving songket, it surely always a mesmerising and magical experience. Nimble hands, moving in tandem with agile feet together with fine eye coordination, produced an intricate pattern on the draw loom. Clicks and thumps accompanied the endeavour - the songket weaver's song as it were. People say, you could always tell if someone was an expert from the sounds made during the weaving process.

If you turn the clock back three centuries, you'll probably see weavers doing the same thing. There is a certain comfort in knowing that some things have remained constant.

It is a painstaking art, one requires an uncommon skill, and lots of time and patience. So, for those who complain about about the price of songket being too exorbitant, I assure you it's hardly so considering the effort put into it.

WHAT IS SONGKET ?

Songket is normally a base fabric of silk and silk gold (sometimes silver) thread for the overlay, other fabrics like cotton is also used these days.Crystal thread is 'rainbow' thread ofthen seen on a finished piece shimmering like a rainbow. Most weavers learn the art in their mid-teens and traditional patterns are no longer as prevalent as before given the changing trends. When before it was spun on a blck or white base (on rare occasions red) with gold thread, now songket pieces come in multiple hues (for both the base and the pattern).

A piece of songket is normally about 2m or 2.5m in length. It is usually used as kain sampin ( a cloth tied around the midriff by men wearing the Baju Melayu ). A full traditional suit (including head dress) for both men and women can also be made of songket, and this is normally used by bridal couple or for special functions.