Aceh Traditional Clothing – Aceh, which we know as the Veranda of Mecca, was one of the areas that the Dutch could not colonize. The unity and integrity of the people of Aceh is one of the strongest reasons why the Dutch were unable to perfectly divide et impera . The character of the community, principles, culture, and their unity is more or less symbolized through Acehnese traditional clothing. What is Acehnese traditional clothing like?
Overview of Aceh
Aceh is a province located at the northern and western ends of Indonesia. With an area of 57,956.00 km 2 , Aceh is inhabited by 5,274,871 people. In historical records, Aceh is considered the place where Islam first spread in Indonesia. Not only that, Aceh even has a very important role in the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. So do not be surprised if Aceh is nicknamed the Veranda of Mecca.
Aceh could never be occupied by the colonialists because of the unity, unity and spirit of their very strong independent souls. Therefore, Aceh was given the title as a Special Region. Due to these historical reasons, Aceh has its own autonomy in a number of respects as follows:
- Carry out religious activities according to Islamic law while maintaining inter-religious harmony.
- Carrying out customary activities such as the Wali Aceh Institute and the Wali Nanggroe Institution.
- Running education with its own system that runs a quality education system and there is additional local content based on Islamic teachings.
- Regional policies cannot be separated from the role of the clergy by giving fatwas in running the government.
This is not surprising, because Muslims in Aceh have the highest percentage in Indonesia and their values are rooted in the culture of the Acehnese people.
Types, Meanings, and Philosophy of Aceh Traditional Clothing
At first, this Ulee Balang was only used by the imperial family. But now anyone can wear this shirt. Ulee Balang has two types of clothing, namely Linto Baro which is worn by Acehnese men and Daro Baro which is worn by Acehnese women. For more details, let’s finish our Sinaumed’s below:
1. Linto Baro
What are the elements of Linto Baro and how are they? Come on Sinaumed’s, let’s discuss everything here.
a. Meukeusah shirt
This shirt is shaped like a beskap or blazer used as a top for Acehnese men. This clothing has often been worn by Acehnese men since the time of the Samudra Pasai and Perlak kingdoms.
In general, this shirt is made of black woven silk or cotton. For the Acehnese, the black color symbolizes greatness, because of this, this dress symbolizes the greatness of an Acehnese man.
You will find gold thread embroidery on the neck to the chest and cuffs. The embroidery has floral and leaf tendril motifs. For example seumanga (kennanga), bungong glima (pomegranate), seulupok (temtai), keupula (banana flower), kundo , pucok reubong (tumpal), and others. Rarely can you find embroidery with animal motifs.
The meaning of the embroidery motifs is varied and not all of them can be expressed. For example, the pucok reubong (tumpal) motif has the meaning of fertility and togetherness. That people who wear patterned clothes are expected to be given fertility by God Almighty in terms of sustenance and children as successors.
The collar on Meukeusah’s shirt resembles a cheongsam collar. Even though Acehnese traditional clothes are thick with Islamic and Malay culture, these clothes are also not free from the influence of Chinese culture that entered Aceh. The designers of Aceh’s traditional clothing included the collar because it was inspired by the collars of Chinese people who used to pass through Aceh as traders from the country of the bamboo curtain.
b. Sileuweu trousers
The Sileuweu pants are a subset of the Meukeusah dress in the Linto Baro set. Like the top, these pants are also black but made of cotton. The shape widens downwards and there is gold embroidery on it. These pants are also commonly called Cekak Weasel Pants.
c. Sarong
After wearing pants, Acehnese men wear sarongs made of songket cloth to make the wearer’s dignity more visible. This sarong is worn wrapped around the waist and extends above the knee, maybe about 10 cm above it. This sarong is also often referred to by other names, namely Ija Kroeng, Ija Lamugap, and Ija Sangket.
d. Meukeutop
Meukeutop is made of embroidered woven cloth. This embroidery is green, yellow, black, and red. Green symbolizes the peace that Islam brings. Yellow symbolizes the empire. Black means firmness and greatness. And red expresses courage and heroism. So this man wearing Meukeutop is an Acehnese man who adheres to Islamic teachings in peace and has firmness and acts like a hero like a king.
At the top, Meukeutop is decorated with Tampoek which is made of gilded gold or silver. Sometimes there are small gems tucked between the gold or silver ornaments. The front of Meukeutop is wrapped in traditional Acehnese woven cloth which is then wrapped in cloth called Ija Teungkulok. The woven cloth is decorated with gold or silver embroidery with one end of the cloth sticking up.
e. Rencong
Rencong is a symbol for the people of Aceh about courage, self-identity and toughness. Rencong has different levels. The sultan’s rencong is made of gold and has carvings in the form of the holy verses of the Koran on the eyes. Meanwhile, apart from the sultan, rencong is made of brass, silver, white iron, ivory and wood.
The Acehnese believe that rencong has a shape that represents the sentence Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahim in Islam. This is a prayer and adds confidence to use rencong properly and confidently.
The use of rencong was very familiar in Acehnese culture. So do not be surprised if Aceh is also referred to as the land of Rencong. However, the use of rencong is currently limited to certain occasions because it is no longer in a state of war.
f. Shiva
In big events, Siwah is more recommended because it shows the greatness of the Acehnese, because of its main function as jewelry and weapons. While Rencong shows more heroism.
Siwah handles are made of fine quality wood, silver, or even gold. The handle is decorated with traditional Acehnese carvings or bamboo shoots motifs . Siwah’s eyes are made of iron from ancient swords or white iron. The handle cup is given a gold or silver cup which is not forgotten to be decorated with jewels. While the Siwah sarong is made of ivory, silver or gold decorated with carvings of creeping plant motifs.
2. Daro Baro
If Linto Baro is dominated by black, then Daro Baro has a variety of colors ranging from red, purple, yellow and green. How about this Daro Baro traditional dress? Come on Sinaumed’s, let’s discuss thoroughly below.
a. Shirt Kurung
This dress is a blend of Malay, Islamic and Chinese culture. The collar of the bajurung bracket is almost similar to women’s clothing from China. The form of a dress that is long and reaches the hips, covers the body, and does not show the curves of a woman’s body is an adaptation to Malay and Islamic culture. That is, so that the wearer’s genitals are not visible from the outside.
b. Cekak Weasel or Sileuweu trousers
c. Sarong
So that women’s hips are completely covered without showing their body shape, Acehnese women wear sarongs as the outer layer of Cekak Musang trousers. This sarong is a songket cloth tied with a silver or gold belt from the waist to below the knee. This belt is called Taloe Ki leng Patah Sikureueng .
d. Patam Dhoe
e. Keureusang
f. Dhoe plate
The shape of the Dhoe Plate is like a crown and has three parts, each part connected by a hinge.
g. Pins strand
A pin strand is used to pin Acehnese traditional clothing for women. The material is made of gold and the motifs are like woven cloth motifs in the form of flower buds and fern patterns. If Sinaumed’s looks closely, in the middle of this Peuniti there is another motif in the form of small dots like fish eggs.
h. Subang Aceh
i. Kidding Ok
j. Save it
Aceh Gayo Traditional Clothing
The Mayok Safe clothing is worn by Aceh Gayo men. This attire for the groom is designed to have a Bulang Pengkah accent , which functions as a place for editing. As for the equipment, this suit consists of a white shirt, pants, ponok (a type of keris), a sarong wrapped around the waist, ladders, flirty rante, several bracelets on the arms, and rings.
Meanwhile, Ineun Mayok is used by Aceh Gayo women. The clothes worn by the bride are designed in an Islamic manner due to the strong influence of Islam in Acehnese culture. As for Ineun Mayok’s clothes, it consists of a shirt, pants, pawak sarong, and a laughing belt. In order for the woman who wears it to look more attractive, it is necessary to give jewelry to her body.
To decorate the head, Acehnese women are decorated with edited crowns, easy sepol buns, cypresses, earrings, earring gener, earring, lelayang, and ilung-ilung. On the neck, hanging necklace date. To make the hands, from the arms to the fingers more beautiful and tapering, use bracelets (such as wedge bracelets, pins, jade bracelets, beramur bracelets, bullet bracelets), headpieces, and rings (such as broken sensims, ceramic sensim rings, twisted sensims, kesel sense, bell sense, and kul sense).
Rante flirty rante is used on the waist outside the sarong and is used on the ankles. And finally, the upu ulen-ulen shawl is crossed from the shoulder to the waist, the size of which is adjusted according to the width of the clothing element.
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Sinaumed’s, we have come to the end of the discussion regarding Acehnese traditional clothing. As our commitment, sinaumedia will always be #FriendsWithoutLimits in presenting our best selected books.
Author: Nanda Iriawan Ramadhan