VISUAL STUDY AND MEANING OF THE MIDDLE STITCHES (UTTU) ON HINGGI WEAVING FROM EAST SUMBA

• Main Author: Perdana Saputra, Wahyu
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/83288
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Physiologically, there are various types of woven fabrics produced by the people of East Sumba with different techniques, formats and uses. Among several woven types, there are only 2 types of woven in general that consisting of 2 or more fabrics in each product, namely lau (women's sarong) and hinggi (men's sarong). Hinggi is a term in the Kambera language which refers to a wide and long hip wrapper that worn by men in East Sumba which consists of 2 plies of fabric with identical designs to one another that woven separately and joined together to form one whole cloth using manual stitches (uttu in Sumba) that stitched parallel to the warp, to achieve a wider dimension of fabric. The uniqueness of hinggi does not only lies in the techniques and its motifs alone, but also in the details such as the uttu stitch that connects two plies of cloth to form one whole hinggi fabric. There are various types of stitches found in hinggi with different designs and techniques, but only a few are still practiced today. This study aims to dig deeper the various stitching techniques and patterns on hinggi and the philosophical meaning behind them. The method used in this study is a qualitative method with a content analysis approach and interview to find the meaning behind the stitches found on hinggi fabrics. The results of this study include an explanation of the creative process behind the embodiment of the uttu stitch pattern, as well as the function and philosophical meaning of the uttu stitch as part of the whole hinggi.