For the brides of Minangkabau in West Sumatra, known as Anak Daro, the suntiang must be worn during the wedding party, which usually runs for a day and a night.
In the past a big suntiang could weigh up to 5 kilograms, and was put in place piece by piece with pins to secure it into the hair roll, meaning that if a wedding party ran for two days, the bride had to sleep in the headdress. Nowadays they are more like hats that can be dismantled.
The artisans behind this elaborate golden headdress are to be found in a village called Pisang Kampung in the Empat Koto subdistrict of West Sumatra’s Agam regency. Bukittinggi city is just the home to most of the shops that sell suntiang.
To make the suntiang, mansi, or wires, are bent into shape to fit the head; other wires are then attached vertically. These are installed on a frame of aluminum or zinc, also shaped to the wearer’s head. Then, at least five types of decoration are attached to the wires. The five decorations are called suntiang pilin, suntiang gadang, mansi-mansi, bungo and jurai-jurai.
The size of the suntiang is measured according to the number of mansi. The biggest suntiang have 25 wires; the next size down has 23 wires. Headdresses with 21 wires are the most commonly used nowadays. It needs up to 12 hours to make the biggest suntiang.
The suntiang is a handicraft. It takes many shapes and styles. It can be made of different materials such as aluminum, zinc, brass, copper or plastic.
Source: The Jakarta Post 20/03/09
Photography from Djoni Hendra’s Collection.
