Tedi Permadi is an assistant professor of philology at the Indonesian University of Education in Bandung, West Java. Since 1996, he has been dedicated to reconstructing the tradition of daluang papermaking. In 2014, daluang was officially registered as an intangible cultural heritage with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, in large part because of Tedi Permadi’s advocacy. I was connected with Permadi through Tim Barrett and Isamu Sakamoto when I was expanding my bark paper research beyond Mesoamerican amate paper. I first met Permadi in 2017 while I was in Indonesia on a Fulbright grant to study daluang bark paper and natural dyes. During my year abroad, Permadi shared the daluang papermaking technique with me, and introduced me to contemporary daluang artists and papermakers. From my observations, it appears that every daluang papermaker active today was taught by Tedi Permadi. Additionally, he is the source of all the modern daluang beaters currently in use. Without his efforts, the daluang papermaking technique would be long forgotten by the Indonesian people and the world. On March 31, 2019 and May 7, 2019, I interviewed Tedi Permadi over email to share his knowledge and passion for daluang papermaking with Hand Papermaking readers.
lisa miles (lm): What is daluang? When and where does it come from?
tedi permadi (tp): Daluang is the traditional paper of Indonesia made from paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). The inner bark is stripped off the stem, soaked in fresh water, beaten, fermented, and dried in the sun. It is made by hand using simple tools.
From prehistoric times to the present, isolated forest tribes have worn bark cloth garments. Daluang is first mentioned as clothing in the ninth-century Kakawin Ramayana manuscript. There isn’t too much difference between daluang bark paper and fuya (or tapa) bark cloth. Both use the same raw materials and have similar production techniques. Daluang paper is used by Hindus for religious rituals. It has also been used as a writing material and for Wayang Beber (Javanese picture-scroll theatre). Daluang was also used by regional government administrations for bookbinding and folders until the 1960s. With the introduction of commercial paper from Europe and other countries, daluang papermaking was no longer practical or economically feasible.
Daluang is considered to have gone extinct around the 1960s and the traditional daluang papermaking technique was not inherited by the next generation. It started with the near extinction of paper mulberry. In 1963 Mount Agung in Bali erupted so violently that it eradicated paper mulberry trees which grew on almost the entire island. Twenty years later, Mount Galunggung erupted and destroyed the paper mulberry that grew around West Java. This was followed by the loss of traditional papermaking knowledge and technology; a loss of respect for the potential and utilization of Indonesia’s biodiversity; as well as the loss of a sense of belonging for daluang paper in Indonesian culture.
lm: How did you first come to know daluang and what inspired you to learn how to make it yourself?
tp: In 1995, I graduated as a bachelor of Sundanese literature from Padjadjaran University. There I took philology courses and studied ancient manuscripts, but at that time not many lecturers and students were interested in material analysis because they focused on the text. Earlier I had researched materials used in graphic arts with students at Bandung Institute of Technology. After studying manuscripts at Padjadjaran University, I was interested in learning to make daluang. What really inspired me to research the making of daluang was that at that time, in early 1996, no one had learned it. I have one motto in life—if we master the knowledge that is not mastered by others, then we are experts.
My first field study was to the last known place of daluang production in West Java, namely Tunggilis Kampoong in Garut. I met families descended from daluang papermakers, found beater tools, and several paper mulberry trees which became central to further development. From the descendants of daluang makers, Mr. Abidin and Mr. Deden, I learned how to cultivate paper mulberry and to make daluang paper. At a workshop in Bandung, I made a replica of a traditional beater. Finally, I developed my own metal-casting technique with copper and zinc to form brass beaters.
lm: How do you and other daluang papermakers access paper mulberry fiber?
tp: Papermakers have to plant paper mulberry trees at their homes or where other people are willing. When a tree is old enough, around one and a half years old, the tree is cut down. If it has been grown on another person’s property, the tree is
purchased for a reasonable price.
lm: Is appreciation of daluang growing? Do you see the market expanding or stagnating?
tp: Appreciation towards daluang from the academic community, the government, and the general public started developing a few years ago. Daluang began to be known as traditional Indonesian paper and was introduced in several Indonesian universities which offer majors in philology. The National Library and the Museum of Textiles annually hold exhibitions about daluang bark paper and fuya bark cloth. Even on social media there is a lot of appreciation about daluang with #daluang, #dalwuang, #saeh, #ulantaga, #indonesianpaper, and related hashtags. However, the daluang market is stagnant due to the lack of raw materials, the low number of papermakers, and the price of daluang paper being more expensive than commercial paper.
lm: Who is buying daluang? And, why?
tp: Daluang is currently understood as an art paper that has traditional values and Indonesian identity. Daluang is used by artists.
Private and government institutions purchase daluang for certificates or souvenirs. In Indonesia, especially for Hindus, daluang is a sacred paper used in religious ceremonies and must be present in ngaben cremation rites.
lm: What efforts are being made to preserve and conserve historic daluang manuscripts?
tp: Ancient daluang manuscripts have been collected and well cared for by Indonesian libraries and museums. In addition, there are many daluang manuscripts held in community collections. The National Library and the Ministry of Religion in collaboration with the Indonesian Association for Nusantara Manuscripts (Masyarakat Pernaskahan Nusantara) have undertaken various efforts to preserve these resources, including digitization, direct maintenance of manuscripts, and providing dedicated storage space.
lm: How do you see the future of handmade paper in Indonesia?
tp: Indonesian people do not yet fully appreciate handmade paper, so as a result today’s younger generations are generally not interested in making handmade paper. Indonesian society values basic function and low prices, so handmade paper, which is more expensive than commercial paper, is less attractive for consumers. However, with interest from several government institutions and the Indonesian cultural preservation community, and furthermore because it is the sacred paper of the Indonesian Hindus, daluang paper will be able to survive for a long time even if its use is not expanding rapidly.
lm: What mark do you think your generation will leave on the tradition of daluang papermaking?
tp: To revitalize the tradition, it is necessary to replant paper mulberry and re-learn the process of making daluang. But, it turns out that it is not enough to just plant trees and make daluang. The makers must involve the younger generations so that more people can participate in this legacy.… I feel that my contribution to the nation and people of Indonesia is to revive the tradition of daluang papermaking as one of Indonesia’s cultural riches that comes from preserving biodiversity and traditional technology.