More than a century ago, when the majority of Papuans wearing penis gourds (koteka), hula skirt and Awur, the Sorongnese (West Papuan) actually had started to wear their own home-made sarong weaving. The weaving motif is similar and looks like with the cultural products ikat Timor, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). How come this products can be same? The following is search results.
Ikat in Papua apparently first appeared in Sorong, West Papua, on Maybrat tribe which is one of the original residents of the Bird's Head region of Papua. Some of them are Tehit tribal. While the Moi tribal famous with body tattoo culture inhabited the region east of Sorong, especially on the island of Um. Bird's Head region is due to be expanded into a new province with the name of Southwest Papua.
Ikat known in tribal culture Maybrat where their livelihood is gardening and simple farming. Some of them are government officer (PNS). This tribe is known as hard worker. They call it as the Timor woven fabrics. Why is it called so? Reputedly, this weave culture get into West Papua began around the 1700s were brought by missionaries and teachers from the Timor, NTT.
The teachers, missionaries and migrants from Timor are the people who are introducing fabrics as well as train and educate local children to weave fabric woven Timor.
Many women now wearing their own home-made sarong, especially in the traditional parties in the city, just like the people on the island of Timor. The sarong who has Timor pattern also becoming dowry as most prestigious and most expensive for people of Sorong. If a family has more wovens, especially hundreds years old one then their social status getting higher.
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| Yosafat Kambu (purple suit), is a spoken person for South West Papua expansion wearing Sorong ikat woven. Photo by rakyatmerdekaonline.com |
