Norwani Md. Nawawi

Symmetrical Pattern: Analysing Songket in Wallpaper Patterns

Various patterns can be found in traditional Malay textile fabrics such as stripes, checkers and zigzag. These patterns often provide opportunities for identifying the unique mathematical patterns in the traditional Malay songket fabrics. Basically in songket, there are six types of patterns which have been identified by local weavers. However, this paper will explore more patterns in classifying mathematical pattern groups such as the frieze patterns and wallpaper patterns. By understanding regularities based on the data we gathered, we can actually predict what comes next, estimate if the same pattern will occur when variables are altered and begin to extend the pattern. The classification of wallpaper pattern can be found in the badan kain of a sarong and badan kain of a traditional shawl. This paper seeks to identify early Malay songket textiles within the context of the mathematical pattern groups in the twentieth century, which may have influenced, or been influenced by, technical development in the production of pattern-woven textiles from the Islamic world.

Malay Kebaya: The History and Influences of Other Silhoutte

This paper will look at Malay kebaya. Malay kebaya are common Malay traditional dresses that have been worn by Malay women from generation to generation and are cherished by the society until today. In fact, other ethnic groups such as Chinese, Indian and Peranakan in Malaysia who practice different beliefs and cultures, feel proud to slip into these Malay traditional dresses as they represents multiracial harmony in Malaysia. Kebaya as compared to baju kurung is facing bigger challenges to compete in the borderless world of fashion and technology. Back in the old days, kebaya is considered common everyday attire for Malay women, however, the status has changed as it is now worn only to formal events and weddings. Equally, the Malays have their own unique kebaya which portrays their identity. Malay kebaya consists of baju belah, long kebaya (kebaya labuh) with lapel (kebaya lepel) and short kebaya as known as kebaya pendek. This paper contributes to new knowledge regarding archiving Malay kebaya which acts as a useful indicator in preserving costumes heritage. The outcome of this research will allow preservation and documentation of the cultural and heritage costumes in systematically order.

The Aesthetic Principles of Baju Kurung

The aesthetic of Baju Kurung relies heavily on the look of the garment and process of garment making as value of commercialization. In commercializing the Baju Kurung, the maker sometimes modifies the traditional character of the garment. The wearer often disregards modifications made to the Baju Kurung as long as the wearer looks good in the garment. Due to this phenomenon, this research attempted the Malay aesthetic principles to be applied on Baju Kurung. The Malay aesthetic principles are a set of principles used to evaluate Malay arts and crafts, generally motifs on woodcarvings, textiles and architecture. Although there was no written philosophies or principles of the traditional arts produced before the twentieth century, it was impossible for the maker to produce an object without having the objective to create something that functions. Aesthetic assessment is a critique made on the art object whether the person viewing the object is in favour or not. The person who evaluates the object must also know his or her priority whether to assess the object based on response or the object itself. The encouragement towards the appreciation of Baju Kurung is made using Zakaria’s six principles, which are berhalus, berguna, bersatu, berlawan, berlambang and bermakna (finesse, functional, unity, contrasting, symbolic and meaningful). The principles explain how the aesthetics of the garment are judged through formalistic approach. As to complete the evaluation of the aesthetics in formalistic relation, the research incorporated related theories used for aesthetics in Malay arts and crafts as well as other dress principles in Malay dresses such as Malay dress ethics and Islamic dress criteria.

Sustainability of Marine Life into Jewellery Design

People have been collecting recyclable materials to be recycled into useful products for decades. For this research, it is interesting to find out on waste of fish skin that they could be recycled into useful products. This fish is known as Starry Triggerfish. The characteristics of this fish skin are that it has the potential to be used as recycle products by applying the concept of ‘waste to wealth’. Jewellery is a body ornaments produced using precious metals, such as silver or gold consolidated with gemstones for decorative purpose. The sustainability characteristics will be identified by how the products will be maintained by utilizing their functions and aesthetics values. The problem statement of this research is that fish skins are one of the major wastes from fish processing, of which the skin of fish processed was often dumped back into the sea with a potential to pollute surrounding waters. This research was done with three objectives. First is to understand the potential of marine life to be consolidated in jewellery design, to develop the competitive marine life-based material as a supporting material in jewellery design and finally to achieve a sophisticated jewellery design based on marine life as a supporting material that has potential to be commercialized. This research was done with experimentation method. The experiment was conducted to know the best colouring technique on fish skin and to choose the best technique to consolidate the fish skin on jewellery design. The experiments resulting in the best techniques and highest sustainability are the potential of this subject matter. The consolidating of marine life-related material with metalsmithing techniques enhancement gives a new phrase in the jewellery industries. It becomes an important task to the researcher to uphold and promoting the influences of marine life, especially the Starry Triggerfish to Malaysian designer who was involved in the industrial jewellery designing. As a conclusion, Malaysian product designer will be seen not just as an ordinary designer being but also as a high-potential designer in a variety of product designs. Marine life encompasses a lot of potential that can be consolidated in product manufacturing.

Uniqueness of Malay Traditional Embroidery: Kelingkan

Throughout history and due to its location, Malaysia has been a point of multiculture and rich history which promotes the development of traditional crafts and embroideries. Focusing on the Malay traditional gold thread embroidery known as the Kelingkan, this research investigates the subjects, motifs, stitching styles, materials use, and the applications of the embroidery. The research reveals that the Kelingkan embroidery took place from the periods of the Malacca sultanate and expanded through the different cultural backgrounds that developed a diversity of styles and characteristics. By field study and historical data collecting, the aim of the research was to investigate the development and to innovate Malay traditional embroidery especially the Kelingkan gold thread embroidery by interview and observation of the embroidery and the embroiderer which helps to build the data of embroidery originality and its innovations. Furthermore, through the data of the historical and the present Kelingkan embroidery, the research made a few improvements and experimentation of the tools and style of stitching for the benefit of its techniques and time consumed and to generate interest amongst young generations towards the traditional embroidery.

Traditional Songket and Contemporary Designs Towards Commercial Products

The songket is among the few traditional Malay textiles which are still being produced locally. It is considered the queen of traditional textiles in the Malay region (Melayu Nusantara.) No doubt in the olden days the handwoven songket was specially made for the king and the royal family as they were made with real gold threads and with high-quality silk. Songket is a cloth woven in supplementary weft weave technique where the metallic threads as the decorative elements are woven into the fabric of natural or synthetic yarns. Songket is always significant in the Malay culture, as it has been used for centuries by the locals. The designs are usually derived from nature, inspired by the weaver’s everyday life. Today the songket is still the chosen textile for both traditional and official ceremonies, and also for many ritual purposes. This chapter describes how the Malay songket can be made into works of art and fashion accessories with contemporary designs. It also explains the development of traditional motifs to contemporary patterns for commercial products such as soft furnishings for interior decoration in private homes or offices. Whilst preserving the basic techniques of traditional songket, contemporary designs in songket are being explored through new techniques developed using different looms for faster production and adopting various materials that give different looks.

Islamic Features Adaptation in Songket Design

The Malay Peninsula is located in a strategic location where it is situated in the middle course of trade between the East and the West. The attraction of the location became a major transit for foreign traders. The traders brought not only merchandise but also can be viewed as a small delegation that brought together cultures, beliefs, and religions. Various effects can be seen in the pattern of Malay’s life from the beginning of migration between regions in the archipelago up to the western colonial period, Among the obvious influences that have been profound and lasting until now is the influence of Islam. Islam gave much influence and encouragement towards the development of artistic activities of the Malay people in daily life, especially in the handwoven fabric which is songket. Islamic effects can be seen through songket designing that oriented features from Islamic characteristics. This chapter investigates how the Islamic view influences the form and content of its artistic element in Malaysian songket design, to discover the correlation of Islamic art with Malysian songket, and to serve as evidence of the existence of evolution factors of Islam on Malaysian songket designs. Based on the result, several designs such as motifs and patterns of songket were identified and classified as part of Islamic art.

The Exploration of Vegetable Dyes in Fibre Artworks

Natural dyes are made from natural sources such as plants, minerals, or insects. The use of natural dyes in the textile field was discovered during the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Today there is consciousness about the friendliness of natural dyes for the colouration of textile art. By experimenting with various materials in the production of natural dyes, it has triggered a highly variant development of dye that brings benefits in the textile art industry. This research objective was to identify the types of local vegetables suitable to produce dyes for fibre artwork. This study was conducted using a qualitative research design also involving studio experiments. The purpose of the experiments was to produce the dyes from vegetable extracts and to apply them into an artwork base on landscape scenery. The exploration of techniques determines the colour of the artwork. Generally, this research can produce special aesthetic qualities in Fibre Art which is significant for a product that is environmentally friendly. This study could add value to textile design, craftwork, and the Fibre Art industry.

Investigation of Meaningful Ornaments on Terengganu Boats

Historically, Terengganu boats are one of the best creations for Terengganu arts and traditions. Terengganu is surrounded by the water either from the lake, rivers, or sea. The community living in the area of rivers or along the beach use boats as their main transportation. They use boats for trading activities, fishing, or to move from one village to another village. The study aimed to explore and identify the application of traditional woodcarvings and decorated elements on a boat especially in Terengganu. Traditional wood carving is one of the classic traditions of Terengganu and it is a part of the Malay culture. The objectives are to identify the types of traditional wood carving and decorated elements on boats that have the symbolic interpretation and the philosophy of the motifs on its wood carving. The most important purpose is to collect samples and leftover treasures and tradition particularly in the collection of motifs and the implicit message behind each artwork. Traditional boats were observed through a significant change; especially in terms of design where wood carvings no longer apply. The collected motifs were shown to be an effective way of documenting the national treasure of wood carving in each creation of art before its extinction. There was a variety of wood carving that carried their own identity either in terms of design, motif, themes, functions, or making process. The knowledge of wood carving as ornaments on Terengganu boats should be preserved to educate future generations.

Decorative Elements of Traditional Wood Carving in Frieze Pattern on Terengganu Boats

Wood carving plays an important element in decorating the traditional boat. Traditional wood carving is well known in Malay culture. The uniqueness of the Malay wood carving is shown from the selection of motifs used in the Malay traditional boats. Basically, on traditional boats, there are seven parts of the boat that are decorated with carving. The carving can be found on the following parts of the boat: the Bangau, Okok, Caping, Koyang, Cagak, head and tail. This paper aims to explore the patterns of wood carving used in decorating the traditional boats. Various patterns can be found in traditional Malay boats such as carving with motifs of living things. The carver used flora, fauna and human characters as motifs. Besides that, there are also woods carved with the motifs of shadow puppet characters. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify the traditional wood carving on traditional boats in Terengganu and analyse the motif used in the context of the mathematical pattern group in the twentieth century.