The Future Of Songket

Nadhirah Othman speaks to Noriah Ashari, the owner and managing director of Atikah’s Songket, to discuss if this niche industry is a dying art form in local fashion, and how we can ensure this legendary heritage lives on.

Songket, a fabric that belongs to the same family as brocade, means to sungkit or hook in Malay. It is hand-woven in silk or cotton by inserting decorative threads in between the wefts as they are woven into the warp, which is fixed to the loom. This technique is also known as tenun in Malay.

The Kelatanese people believe that this weaving technique came from the North, somewhere in the CambodiaSiam region and then expanded south into Pattani and then to Kelantan and Terengganu in the 16th century. However, Terengganu weavers believe that it was the Indian traders brought songket weaving to Palembang and Jambi, where it probably originated during the time of Srivijaya. It is also most likely that songket weaving was brought to Peninsular Malaysia through intermarriages between royal families.