Tabanan, Rainbow over Ricefields

Songket of Belayu Favoured by Foreign Tourists

Songket, a traditional textile product of Bali made by simple technology, is called cagcag woven cloth. In fact, this textile is highly favoured by foreign tourists and they purchase it as a souvenir.

One of the songket products coming in the choice of foreign tourists is that of "Puri Bunga Songket" at Beringkit Village, Belayu (Marga). This showroom that specially displays several kinds of traditional textiles of Bali is visited by tourists almost every day.
Understandably, this showroom is located on the route to tourist object between Taman Ayun and Alas Kedaton. Similarly, it is also easily accessed if you are making a visit to Bedugul. From Denpasar, it is only 19 km northerly.
Except for selling songket, at the Puri Bunga, you can also see a magnificent panorama. The verdant terraced rice field, large and small trees as well as the traditional farmer’s hut will never make you bored.
According to I Gusti Agung Pariati (63), the owner of Puri Bunga Songket, it is a subsidiary of UD Merta Yasa Belayu. Other than by local community, its songket works are also purchased by domestic and foreign tourists. Mostly, the tourists who collect them are from the Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and America. "There are always visitors coming by, though they do not necessarily make a purchase," she says.
Also added, kinds of textile produced consist of cloth, sarong, headdress and sash. Amongst them, there is a special motif belonging to distinctive style of Belayu such as the water spinach, geometric, and lunar. The sarong applies the motif of peacock and flower pot, while the sash carries the motif of tirtanadi, sumping waluh (pumpkin cake) and cricket cage.
Pariati admits that weaving activity has been performed since 1965 to resume the activity of her ancestor. At that time, the orders immensely soared and she consequently employed some people to assist her. However, the activity today is lacking vigour. On that account, she has no choice but discharging her employees.
Today, she just collects the proceedings of textile woven by weavers at their own home. "Decrease on the demand of songket cloth makes many weaver turn to other professions such as carving. Now, those that remain to exist are merely few and far between," she uttered regretfully.
Formerly, Belayu was renowned as the hub of songket producers as many villagers were deeply involved in the business. Besides, Belayu was a royal territory that cared intensely for the development of their regional art and culture to make the tradition of weaving stay long lasting. "Nowadays, the tourist visit is extremely low. Last August, we only recorded ten visits. It was different from the times before the bomb tragedy where guests came here nearly every day," told Pariati, the third achiever of Small-scale Entrepreneur with Outstanding Achievement in last 2001. (BTN/015)