Sumba weavings break records

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara (Jakarta Post) : Two traditional weavings by weavers in East Sumba regency have entered the Indonesian Record Museum (MURI) and broken a world record.

The fabrics were 24 meters and 50.1 meters in length, both hand-made by dozens of weavers.

"The fabrics are perfect, leading MURI to name them as the longest weavings ever," said MURI manager Paulus Pangka.

"One of them, (known as a) 'hinggi humba anda marongu', broke the world record (for length)," he added while handing the certificate to Silvia Angraeni Mehang Kunda, head of the East Sumba regency National Handicraft Council late Friday.

He said MURI earlier recorded an 18-meter-long weaving in Pekanbaru in Riau province as the longest.

"But the Sumba weavings entered MURI since they are manually and perfectly made," he said.

Silvia said the weavings were not only made to break records but to preserve traditional heritage and motivate weavers to develop their skills.