SASKARA Introduces Werni, Mukena And Sajadah With East Javanese Nuances

Photo: Doc. CONTACT

JAKARTA - To coincide with the festivities of Indonesian Independence Day, SASKARA introduced Werni, a collection of mukena and prayer rugs with the nuances of a typical East Javanese shadow puppet. Werni is part of the Nusantara SASKARA Series which will elevate and preserve the beauty of every province in Indonesia.

Last year, SASKARA started the Nusantara Series through a collection of Purak Barik mukena which was inspired by the dance of the Dayak tribe, North Kalimantan. Then continued with Kilau Mandalika which elevates the beauty of the pearls of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara through accessories such as prayer beads and mask straps that can be used as necklaces or bracelets.

SASKARA's inspiration this time came from the legendary shadow puppet culture in East Java. Wayang is a performing art that has its roots in Indonesian culture, especially in the Java region.

The legendary status of wayang has also been recognized by the international agency UNESCO, which calls wayang an amazing cultural work in the field of narrative stories and beautiful and valuable cultural heritage. There are those who believe that the word "wayang" comes from the word "shadow", because wayang performances are played from behind the screen, so that what the audience sees is a shadow.

Some also say that "wayang" comes from the word "Ma Hyang" which means to go to a spiritual spirit, deity, or God Almighty. This traditional performing art accompanied by gamelan music and played by a dalang was also one of the propaganda media used by Wali Songo.

The connection of wayang with the meaning of "Ma Hyang" inspired Andya Kartika, CEO and designer of SASKARA, to issue a collection of mukena and prayer mats with wayang illustrations that can be seen in the mukena and prayer mat pouches.

In Werni's collection, which consists of mukena, women's prayer rug, and men's prayer rug, SASKARA uses selected materials. For Werni's mukena, SASKARA chose ultra fine velvet which is very thin, smooth, cool, and doesn't wrinkle easily.

Mukena Werni is also equipped with a small pouch so that it is practical and easy to carry around. Men's prayer rugs can also be compactly packaged by rolling them up using a leather belt and then attaching them to a bag, making them practical.

In addition, Werni's mukena is part of the Jasmine mukena series, one of SASKARA's best sellers. Jasmine or jasmine flowers do have a small size, but there is an extraordinary meaning behind them, namely a gift from God. The Jasmine mukena series is in demand by many people because of its small size, light weight, and suitable for traveling.

The Werni collection comes with five product variants, where each variant name is taken from the Javanese language and represents male and female characters. For women's mukena and prayer mats, there are Anna which means kindness, Jenar which means spirit of steel, Maya which means gentle, Naya which means noble, and Nara which means happy woman.

The variants of the men's prayer mat consist of Dipa which means light, Krishna which means wise, Aruna which means glory, Praya which means intelligent, and Arya which means honorable. Each variant name also has its own distinctive color.

Besides Werni, this time SASKARA also released dozens of new variants as a continuation of Kilau Mandalika.

“Previously the Kilau Mandalika collection launched 4 variants and all of them were well received by the public. Therefore, SASKARA responded to this enthusiasm by releasing 13 new variants through prayer beads, hijab rings, and mask straps decorated with Lombok pearls," said Andya Kartika, in his statement, quoted Wednesday 17 August.

SASKARA's COO, Afif Kamal Fiska, also expressed a similar opinion. Established at the end of 2018, SASKARA always elevates the beauty of the archipelago in every product. SASKARA believes that the richness and diversity of Indonesian culture needs to be recognized by a wide audience.

SASKARA strives to preserve Indonesian culture by introducing the characteristics of each region in Indonesia to the domestic and international community as well. The next step, SASKARA plans to complete the Nusantara Series into 34 collections, according to the number of provinces in Indonesia.