Jakarta – The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially designated the kebaya as a world cultural heritage. The joint submission by Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand was established on December 4, 2024, during the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Asuncion, Paraguay.
“We are extremely grateful because the long struggle for registration with UNESCO has finally yielded results that meet our expectations.” “However, the history of the kebaya’s existence is a cultural journey of the archipelago passed down by our ancestors,” said Rahmi Hidayati, Chairperson of Perempuan Berkebaya Indonesia (PBI) (5/11/2024).
According to Rahmi, all this time, kebaya enthusiasts have been striving to preserve this ancestral heritage of the archipelago through various activities involving all generations. In the future, she hopes to focus more on working with the younger generation because they will be the ones to fight for the preservation of the kebaya.
The proposal for submission to UNESCO was first conveyed in 2017 during the PBI event “1,000 Women in Kebaya.” It was then reaffirmed during the National Kebaya Congress held on April 5-6, 2021, leading to the formation of a National Team for the UNESCO registration process.
There was indeed some commotion regarding the joint submission with four other countries because the history of the kebaya originated in Indonesia. But the regulations issued by UNESCO are not about the origin of the culture, but rather about preservation. If a country can prove that it has preserved a culture for 20 years, then that country is entitled to register it with UNESCO.
Preservation of Kebaya Involves Young People
Indiah Marsaban, a member of the Kebaya National Team, explained that the nomination of the cultural element “kebaya” was submitted in March 2023 with the title “Dossier Kebaya: Knowledge, Skills, Tradition and Practice.” The focus was on knowledge about kebaya, skills in making kebaya, the tradition of wearing kebaya, and how to preserve the kebaya culture in each country.
“The kebaya culture is not exclusive to Indonesia; it thrives and sustains itself in neighboring countries because the kebaya tradition is continuously preserved as a sustainable culture,” she said.
Regarding the preservation of kebaya culture, PBI has organized various programs involving young people. The Kebaya Goes To School, Kebaya Goes To Campus, and Kebaya Goes To Office movements are implemented in all branches, both domestically and internationally.
The main goal is to introduce the existence of the kebaya as the first traditional attire to appear in Indonesia and to invite them to wear kebaya on various occasions. “Psychologically, there is indeed a perception that wearing kebaya is complicated. Wearing a kain also feels uncomfortable. “For that reason, we teach a practical way that allows the wearer to move freely in various activities,” said Rahmi.
In addition to cultural preservation, she continued, promoting the existence of kebaya also has an economic impact. The kebaya fashion industry, from small-scale to factory production, will continue to grow. Likewise, the producers of woven fabrics scattered throughout the archipelago, considering that kebaya is not only worn with batik cloth.
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