By wearing tope le’leng, the Kajang people stand as equals before Turie Ara’na the Creator.
In our language we call weaving attanung’. Weaving culture is the ancestral heritage of the Kajang Adat Community, which is still practiced by women. Kajang women are said to be adults and ready to get married once they are skilled at weaving.
The tools and materials used for weaving are taken from the Boundary Forest. Likewise with the black coloring made from the plant indigofera, which we call tarung (or indigo). We usually plant tarung on the edge of the forest or in our own garden near the house. There are special rituals that need to be performed before we can take something from the forest, including wood or other materials for the first fabric that girls weave as a rite of passage.
In 2015, and with assistance from AMAN, we Kajang women weavers established a cooperative that collects and distribute our woven creations. The name we chose for our cooperative is Turikale. The word “turikale” in the Kajang language means ‘close family’. Selling woven fabrics for money is permitted, depending on our needs. Usually, the proceeds go towards our children’s school fees.
Initially, the Turikale Cooperative consisted of only 20 women, but the number is increasing day by day. Weaving women also work with AMAN to develop marketing strategies that align with our customary values. The weaving process is also unchanged and we still source all the materials from our customary forests.
By using our own weaving tools made from our customary forests, we remain connected to continuing the ancestral mandate (pasang) to protect the forest as the blanket of the world.
