Hello Hive'r
In this post, I will describe the types of traditional Acehnese clothing and their meanings and philosophies. However, on this occasion I will discuss the traditional clothes used by men during official events such as wedding receptions and other official events.
Aceh's traditional clothes are named Uleebalang. As in traditional clothing in general, Acehnese traditional clothing shows the uniqueness of the customs that are applied in Acehnese society. Aceh traditional clothing has special characteristics that distinguish it from other regional traditional clothes. This characteristic is the combination of Malay culture and Islamic culture. At first the traditional Acehnese clothes were used by the sultan's family, but now anyone can wear these clothes. Acehnese traditional clothing has two kinds of clothing, namely Linto Baro, which is worn by Acehnese men, and Dara Baro, which is used by Acehnese women. But for this post I will discuss the traditional Acehnese clothes used by Linto Baro.
Uleebalang used by men consists of several parts, namely headgear, clothes, pants, traditional weapons and other jewelry:
Meukeusah Clothes
Meukeusah shirt in the form of a blazer is worn as a top for Acehnese men. This clothing has been used by Acehnese men since the days of the Samudra Pasai kingdom and the Peureulak kingdom. This shirt is made of black silk or cotton. For the people of Aceh, black symbolizes greatness. Therefore, this meukeusah dress symbolizes the greatness of Acehnese men. The meukeusah clothes also have gold thread embroidery on the neck to the chest and the ends of the sleeves, the embroidery is in the form of ylang flowers, pomegranate flowers, temtai flowers, cape flowers, tumpal flowers and others. All of these embroidery have different meanings, for example, embroidery with a tumpal flower pattern has the meaning of fertility and togetherness. It means that those who wear clothes with embroidered flower motifs are expected to be given fertility by God Almighty in terms of sustenance and children as successors.The collar on the meukusah shirt resembles a Cheongsam collar. Although Aceh's traditional clothing is thick with Malay and Islamic culture, this meukeusah is also inseparable from the Chinese culture that entered Aceh.
Sileuweu Pants
Sileuweu is a suit that wears meukeusah on linto baro. Sileuweu is also black, but made of cotton. The shape of the sileuweu widens downwards and there is gold embroidery at the bottom.
Sarong
After wearing sileuweu pants, Acehnese men also wear a sarong made of songket so that the wearer's authority appears even more. This cloth is used by wrapping it around the waist with a length of up to above the knee, approximately 10 cm above the knee. This sarong is also commonly called ija kroeng, ija waist and ija songket
Meukeutop
Meukeutop is a head covering for Acehnese men. Meukeutops are made of embroidered woven fabrics. This embroidery is green, yellow, black and red. Green symbolizes what Islam brings, yellow symbolizes the sultanate, black means firmness and greatness, and red symbolizes courage and heroism. So, this Acehnese man who wears meukeutop is a man who adheres to the teachings of Islam peacefully and has firmness and acts like a hero like a king.
At the top of the meukeutop is decorated with Tampoek made of gold or silver gilded, there are also small gems that are tucked between the gold or silver ornaments. The front of the meukeutop is wrapped in traditional Acehnese woven cloth, the cloth is called Ija Teungkulok. The woven cloth is also decorated with gold or silver embroidery with one end shaped sticking up.
Rencong
Image Source
Aceh's traditional clothing is incomplete if it is not equipped with traditional weapons. Acehnese traditional clothes for men are equipped with rencong. Rencong tucked in the folds of the sarong wrapped around the waist. The handle of the rencong is arranged in such a way that it comes out.
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 there are carvings in the form of verses from the Qur'an in his eyes. Rencong other than for the sultan is made of brass, silver, iron and also of wood. In the past, the use of rencong was very familiar among the people of Aceh, so it is not surprising that Aceh is called the land of rencong, but the use of rencong is currently very limited only for certain events.
Source
Just a little discussion about the types of traditional Aceh clothes, their meaning and philosophy, I hope friends like it.
