History And Meaning Of The Traditional Tanimbar Clothes That Jokowi Was Wearing When Attending The 2023 MPR Annual Session

Illustration of the history and meaning of the tanimbar traditional clothes worn by Jokowi (Source: Screenshot of YouTube/Presidential Secretariat)

YOGYAKARTA Arrived at the DPR building at around 08.35, Indonesian President Joko Widodo appeared to be wearing traditional clothes. In order to attend the MPR Annual Session and the Joint Session of the DPR and DPD in 2023, with Mrs. Iriana, she implies a philosophy of the clothes worn. What does the meaning of the dress worn by the head of state with the first lady? Here's the explanation.

Wearing a white shirt and pants and black shoes, the President wore a brown Tanimbar ikat woven cloth that wrapped the chest around his back. On the head is a black cloth decoration and a white ornamental necklace. The traditional clothes are also equipped with large circle ornaments on the chest, as well as a woven belt with a black base color with red stripes on the ends.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Iriana was seen wearing a gold long dress suit equipped with a scarf with a matching color mounted on her right shoulder, as well as simple makeup and sweetened hair.

Launching the official website of the Maluku Provincial Tourism Office, Wednesday, August 16, Tanimbar Tie Weaving is one of the traditional Indonesian fabrics from the Tanimbar Islands, West Southeast Maluku. This woven fabric is made by combining threads elongated and transverse. Generally, the motifs that are owned are very diverse but most of them are dominated by lines and are interspersed with certain patterns adapted from animal motifs and flora in the surrounding nature.

Since ancient times, the tradition of weaving has been closely related to the people of Tanimbar. Starting from weaving the leaves of lightning to turning the cotton which later became weaving fibers. In this island, a lot of cotton grows so that weaving is a way for people to empower the yields of cotton gardens. The motifs made are very diverse, between one village and the other have their own characteristics. Generally, weaving is a woman and to finish weaving takes 7 days in the process of household activities.

Not only is it made from braided cotton, there are also many woven threads that have been completed. Launching the Kemendikbud page, to make it easier for the weaving to bind into cloth, the motif and ornamental plan is drawn first. Then the image is used as the basis for the weaving to perform bonds. There are still many weaving using natural dyes, black using taru leaves, padding leaf yellows, and red using mangrove tree skin. Regarding the motive, between classic and modern motifs, there is no big difference.

The meaning of the motif varies, for example, if you have arrows, it describes your courage. If the motive of a human being is not head, it symbolizes the past story while hunting.

The motive for the Tanimbar woven cloth worn by President Jokowi is quite philosophical. On the outer edge of the weaving, the patterned red and white flag is the identity and symbol of state sovereignty. Limited with a golden line, overall this woven fabric is original motif called Sair or flag. This motif is quite symbolic, in the ornament section framed with the flag motif describes the richness of nature and culture of society.

The hiasan head as part of the traditional dress used by President Jokowi, symbolizes courage, greatness, and courage as a leader. In addition to Jokowi, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin also wears traditional Betawi clothes. Other state officials also wear traditional Nusantara clothing that is rich in style and philosophical meaning.