craft
Songket at the Loom in Sukarara
Sukarara, Central Lombok 3 hours 10+
Inaq Sri sets you on a backstrap loom, explains which motifs belong to a wedding, and lets you weave a hand's width of your own.
Sukarara's weaving group works on backstrap looms on the veranda, the way Sasak women always have. Inaq Sri starts with the thread and the dye plants growing behind the house, then seats you at a warped loom to feel how much body weight a single row takes. You leave with your own woven band and a clear idea why a full songket costs what it costs.
The story behind the experience
Cloth as a contract
In Sasak tradition certain songket motifs are made for marriage and for welcoming, which is why the weaving group decides what may be sold as decoration and what is only woven to order.
How this scores
Cultural respect
Visitor-friendly
Dress code: Shoulders and knees covered
What to bring
- · Cash for buying cloth directly
- · Water
- · Sun hat
What not to do
- · Bargain hard on a cloth that took months
- · Photograph a weaver without asking first
- · Arrive during Friday prayers
Your host
Meet Inaq Sri
Sasak songket weaver · Sukarara, Central Lombok
Inaq Sri learned at her mother's backstrap loom and now runs the weaving group's dye shed. She will not sell a cloth as 'antique' if it is new, and she explains which motifs belong to a wedding rather than a market stall.