Did you know? Songket is woven with gold thread one strand at a time, sometimes for months

Wearing songket at a wedding really does make you feel like royalty for a day. There's a reason for that. This cloth, woven with gold and silver thread, was once worn only by royalty and their families.

Today you'll see songket at weddings, Hari Raya and formal state functions. And since December 2021, Malaysia's songket has been on UNESCO's world heritage list.

Where does the name "songket" come from?

The name is believed to come from the Malay word "sungkit", meaning to pick or hook threads. That's exactly the job: the weaver picks up base threads one by one and slips gold or silver thread in between.

In Malay weaving, songket is also called the "Ratu Kain", or queen of fabrics. It belongs to the brocade family of textiles.

How is songket woven?

The technique is called supplementary weft weaving. In short:

• The weaver first weaves a base cloth of silk or cotton.
• Gold or silver threads are inserted between the base threads.
• The result: metallic patterns that seem to "float" on top of the coloured cloth.

According to UNESCO, songket is woven on a kek, a traditional floor loom with two pedals. A single piece can take months to finish.

Kelantan weaver Che Rohani told FMT that one piece takes her anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on the pattern. One small mistake and the weaving has to be undone and restarted. Patience, level expert.

UNESCO also notes that the weaving has traditionally been done by women, while men take part by making the weaving equipment.

Songket's history in the Malay world

Songket's exact origin is still debated, and there are several theories:

• Songket is often linked to the Srivijaya empire, whose capital is believed to have been Palembang. Statues at the Bumiayu temple in South Sumatra suggest songket-like cloth may have been worn as early as the 8th to 9th centuries.
• A Song dynasty record from China dated 992 describes an envoy from Java bringing silk with floral motifs woven in gold thread.
• In Kelantan, tradition says the technique came from the Cambodia and Siam region. Terengganu weavers instead credit India, by way of Palembang and Jambi.

What we do know: UNESCO says the songket technique in Malaysia dates back to the 16th century and has been passed down through generations. Today, Terengganu and Kelantan are among the states best known for it.

The motifs carry meaning

Songket patterns are usually geometric or drawn from nature, such as flowers, birds and insects. Motifs still woven in Kelantan include:

• Pucuk rebung (bamboo shoots)
• Bunga tabur (scattered flowers)
• Bunga cermai and bunga bintang
• Pagar istana (palace gates)

Pucuk rebung is one of the most popular motifs in the region. Among the Minangkabau, it symbolises a useful life, like bamboo that grows tall and has many uses.

The 2021 UNESCO listing

Songket was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the committee's 16th session, held online from 13 to 18 December 2021. The decision was announced on 16 December 2021.

Malaysia submitted the nomination through its National Heritage Department. UNESCO's documents say songket is practised in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, and has been on the national heritage inventory since 2016. UNESCO also encouraged Malaysia to watch out for the risk of over-commercialisation.

Did you know? Songket doesn't belong to just one country. It's also woven in Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. In Indonesia, Songket Palembang and Songket Sambas were recognised as national Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, followed by Pandai Sikek (2014), Beratan in Bali (2018) and Silungkang (2019).

A UNESCO listing recognises a community's living practice. It isn't a ruling on who "owns" songket. Traditions in both Malaysia and Indonesia are very much alive, each with its own styles and motifs.

Why it matters now

The long, intricate weaving process makes songket expensive, and there are fewer people to carry it on. Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture hopes the UNESCO recognition will get younger people interested in learning to weave.

So next time you wear a songket samping, remember: someone may have spent months at a kek to put every strand of that gold thread in place.

Have you ever tried weaving, or is there a songket heirloom in your family?