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"Songket" Woven Cloth from Jineng Dalem, Singaraja

Balinese people have known the technique of weaving cloth since ancient periods, where the golden period of Balinese songket woven cloth peaked around the 16th century. At that time, the King Dalem Waturenggong headquartered at Gelgel, Klungkung, ruled Bali.

In that period, songket cloth was widely used by royal artists on making performances. It also reflected the social status as it was only used by the royal family and its relatives when attending a ceremony within the royal sphere.
Authority subsidence of the King Gelgel had a strong impact on the existence of this songket weaving craft. Later, the royal family no longer exercised a monopoly over the making and use of this cloth. Their making and use has spread throughout even beyond the castle’s wall.
On that account, respective regencies across Bali have distinctive features, including the regency situating on the northernmost of Bali, namely Buleleng. Craft of weaving songket in Buleleng can be found at some villages such as Beratan Village (Sukasada sub district), Banjar Village (Banjar) and Jineng Dalem Village (Buleleng).
Jineng Dalem Village is located 7 km east of Singaraja city or 2 km south of Penarukan Station. Women undertake songket woven cloth at this village. They apply simple weaving tools, namely of cagcag model and just use their spare time for this job. So, it comes in only as a side job.
Up to these days, the songket woven cloth of Jineng Dalem village remains to exist, as the local villagers believe that being a Balinese woman would not be perfect if they could not have woven. Even, a myth developed in the community that "women should have the capability of producing a piece of cloth, otherwise they would be forced to wear a cloth made from raw animal skin within the afterlife and consequently they would be chased after by dogs as they smell putrid."
Materials of songket are obtained from thread shops in Singaraja, while for large-scale capacity, craftsmen always purchase them in Denpasar. So does its colouring agent for the thread used for the cloth.
Songket cloth produced at Jineng Dalem Village has a typical motif distinguishing it from songket from other regions in Bali. However, such motif is differentiated based on the motif style (rhombus, box, tumpal, barong’s teeth); floral style motif (lotus, water lily); faunal motif (lion, bird, dragonfly, butterfly); human motif (wayang figure, mask or face); and primbon motif, namely the combination of geometrical with floral, faunal and human motif within a piece of fabric.
Songket cloth of Jineng Dalem is commonly sold around Singaraja city. Its selling price varies, greatly depending on the kinds of material used. For instance, songket cloth made from silk thread is sold at IDR 200,000 to IDR 700,000 per piece. There is also retail sale per meter that is intended to make a shirt. A piece of songket woven cloth can be completed within 3-4 days, so their average earning of the craftsmen is between IDR 7,000 to IDR 10,000 per day. (BTN/I Ketut Supir)