BLANGKON

Blangkon is headgear that is used by men as part of a traditional Javanese clothes. Blangkon actual shape of the tissue that is practical headgear made ​​from batik. There is no historical record that can explain the origin of Javanese man wearing a headband or head covering this.


In the ancient Javanese society, there is a story about the legend of Aji Soko. In this story, the existence of iket head has also been called, when Aji Soko managed to beat "Cengkar Gods", a giant ruler of Java, simply by holding a kind of turban to cover the entire land of Java. And as we know, Aji Soko came to be known as the creator and formulator of the beginning of Java, which began in 1941 years ago.


There is a theory which states that the effect of discharging blangkon, Hindu and Islamic cultures are absorbed by the Javanese. According to experts, the Muslims who go to Java consists of the descendants of two ethnic Chinese from Mainland China and the merchants of Gujarat. Gujarat traders are people of Arab descent, they always wore a turban, the length and width of cloth tied around their heads. This turban is to inspire people to wear a headband Java as well as the descendants of the Arabs.



There is another theory which comes from the elders who said that in antiquity, the headband is not permanent like the ever-tied turban on his head. But with the economic crisis caused by the war, the fabric becomes a scarce item. Therefore, the palace officials asked artists to create a headband that uses half the usual for efficiency then creates a permanent form of head covering with a more efficient fabric called blangkon.


In antiquity, blangkon it can only be made by skilled artisans with a grip (rules) are standard. Increasingly meet the specified grip, then it will be higher blangkon value. Becker called cultural experts have been researching this Blangkon-making procedures, it requires a skill of making blangkon called "virtuso skill". According to her: "That an object is useful, that it required skill to make-virtuso Neither of these precludes it from also thought beautiful. Some craft generated from within Their Own tradition a feeling for beauty and with it appropriate aesthetic and common standards of taste ".



Judgments about beauty blangkon, apart from compliance with the standard are also depending on how far someone will know the standard of taste as well as provisions that have become the social standard. Standard are applicable to blangkon, was not only must be complied with by the author, but also by its users. As expressed by Becker as follows: "By accepting beauty as a criterion, of participants in craft activities on a concern characteristic of the definition of folk art. That definition includes an emphasis on beauty as typified in the tradition of some particular art, on the traditions and conserns of the art world Itself as the source of value, on expression of someone's thoughts and feelings, and on the relative freedom of artists from outside interference with the work ".


Blangkon principally made ​​of cloth or tissue (udeng) square or rectangular. The size is approximately as wide as 105 cm x 105 cm. Actually used only half of the cloth. Blangkon size taken from the distance between the latitude of the right ear and left through the forehead and through the top. In general, the smallest numbered 48 and 59 at most.


Blangkon consists of several types, namely:

• Using mondholan, the bulge on the back blangkon shaped like Onde-onde. Blangkon blangkon style is known as Yogyakarta. This bulge model indicating the time of his hair that often tie their long hair at the back of the head, so that part is sticking in the back blangkon. Hair loops should be tight so that it is not easily separated.
• Trepes model, called the style of Surakarta. This style is a modification of Yogyakarta style that emerged as most men with short hair now. Trepes model was made by stitching on the back straight mondholan blangkon.

Apart from the Javanese (mostly from the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java), there are several other tribes in Indonesia wearing a headband similar to the blangkon Java: Sundanese (mostly from West Java and Banten province) , Madurese, Balinese tribes, and others. It's just a grip and shape a different tie.