Ulap Doyo Weaving The Wisdom of Dayak Benuaq Tribe

The island of Kalimantan has a rich cultural heritage in the form of unique and distinctive types of traditional textiles. One of the traditional textiles is the ulap doyo weaving. This woven fabric has become the identity of the Dayak Benuaq tribe who inhabit parts of East Kalimantan. The raw materials, manufacturing processes, and distinctive motifs of this weaving are considered significant cultural heritage of the Dayak Benuaq community.

Ulap doyo is indigenous product of West Kutai and Kutai Kartanegara areas in East Kalimantan Province. Why is it authentic in only these two areas? It is believed that the Benuaq Dayak tribe migrated to South Kalimantan and brought the doyo plant, but the plant could not grow well in this area. The Dayak Benuaq people eventually returned and planted doyo only in their area of origin, cultivating it as raw material to make cloth. It is for this reason that doyo is considered as a regiocentric plant of the East Kalimantan region.

Doyo plant (Curliglia latifolia) and other plants used for natural dyes are now difficult to find due to land clearing for plantations and mining in West Kutai since the 1990s. Forest areas are getting farther away from human settlements. Doyo was used to grow wild in the fields and became more scarce because the farmers turned to working in mining and oil palm plantations.

Doyo woven textile is known due to its good and natural quality. Ulap doyo means doyo leaf. The doyo leaves have strong and firm fibers that could be braided into threads and then woven into cloth by the Dayak Benuaq tribe. The motifs in doyo weaving are mostly inspired by the flora and fauna of Kalimantan. Another uniqueness of doyo weaving is that it is eco-friendly without the use of chemicals. The production process uses traditional gedogan (back strap loom) weaving methods. The coloring is using natural dyes derived from spices and plants found around the area such as yellow turmeric, pandan green, ketapang leaves, as well as various forest fruits which are very useful in the doyo production process.

The process of making doyo weaving begins with collecting about 60-100 doyo leaves from the forest. The doyo leaves are then soaked in the river to remove the leaf flesh. After that, the doyo leaf is slashed with a bamboo knife following the direction of leaf fiber. The weaving process starts with spinning (moyong) doyo fiber by splitting the doyo fibers into 2-3 mm and then twisting them into yarn. These fibers are braided and woven into coarse threads. The doyo leaf threads are then colored using natural dyes from plants. Basically, the original color of doyo fiber for woven materials is white or cream. In order for the colors of the doyo woven cloth to vary so as to create beautiful motifs, various types of dyes are used.

The colors and natural dye materials commonly used in doyo weaving as mentioned in the book Doyo Weaving for the East Kalimantan Region by U Achmad, M Thafer, and C.J Taihuttu (1994) are mostly black, red, green, yellow and chocolate.

1) Black color is obtained from the smoke produced by burning resin mixed with concentrated liquid. Black dye can also be extracted from kebuau tree leaves. The kebuau leaf fiber is boiled together with doyo leaf fiber until the fibers turn black.

2) The red dye for doyo weaving is made from natural stone, glinggam fruit seeds, and uar tree bark. The natural stone or lado obtained from the Lawa Bentian Besar River in the Tanjung Isuy area is only a tool to give the weaving a red color. The natural stone is rubbed on a white plate with a little mixture of water, then dabbed on the woven thread. Then, the seeds of ripe glinggam fruit (Annatto bixa orellana) which have been mixed with water are squeezed in a bowl until thick red liquid is produced. The red liquid is smeared or dabbed on the woven threads of the uar tree bark. The tree bark is peeled and cut into pieces, then pounded until the juice comes out, and then soaked overnight until the water turns dark red. The doyo leaf fibers are then soaked in the mixture for several hours until the fibers turn red.

3) The green color can be obtained from the putri malu leaves (Aminosa pudica). The leaves are smashed with a stone and boiled until they turn thick green, and then smeared on the woven thread.

4) The yellow color is obtained from turmeric (Curcuma longa). The rhizomes are grated and mixed with a little water and then squeezed until thick yellow liquid is produced and then rubbed on the woven thread.

5) The chocolate color is obtained from the uwar roots and oter wood by taking the sap and then smearing it on the woven thread.

The next process is to connect the yarn fibers one by one until they reach 100200 meters in length. The yarns are then rolled up (muntal lawai), arranged and compressed until they become neat using a tool called ngorak uta. Next, the yarns are tied and folded in half to become a piece of cloth. These clothes are then given the base color and motifs according to the wishes of the craftsmen before being dried under the sun to dry. In the final step, the edges of the fabric are cut and sewn to form sheets of doyo cloth which are ready to be processed into various garments.

The technique of doyo weaving has been passed down from generation to generation through a unique process. Dayak Benuaq women usually begin to master the weaving process from their teens by simply observing the work of their mother and elderly women, then practicing it. Due to this unique transfer of skills, it is almost certainly difficult to find people outside the Dayak Benuaq who master the doyo weaving technique.

Ulap Doyo Weaving Motifs

In general, the motifs on the sacred doyo cloth are inspired by the flora and fauna from the banks of the Mahakam River or the theme of the war between humans and dragons. The motifs on the cloth also become the identity of the wearer. The waniq ngelukng motif, for example, is used by ordinary people, while the jaunt nguku motif is used by nobles or kings. This difference in social strata indicates the existence of a caste system that prevails in society, such as that found in Hindus.

The way to wear this typical East Kalimantan cloth was quite diverse in the past. Doyo ulap weaving can be used by both men and women in traditional ceremonies, dances, and in the daily life of the Benuaq Dayak tribe. Doyo ulap weaving, which has historical, artistic and local cultural values, is one of 33 traditional textiles designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Today we could find doyo weaving not only in the form of cloth or clothing, but also in the form of bags, handicrafts, and hats. This development is in line with the increasing demand for doyo weaving, especially from foreign tourists visiting the ulap doyo production centers in Kutai Kartanegara and West Kutai.

(Edy Gunawan, Regional Office for Cultural Properties Preservation in East Kalimantan Province)