Kupastuntas.co, Lampung English - Although Lampung's image is being tarnished due to damaged roads and officials' hedonism, the beauty of its traditional cloth has recently gone 'global'. Lampung's unique tapis cloth existed at the coronation of King Charles III.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Great Britain, Dr. Desra BELI and his wife who wore ethnic Lampung clothing at the ceremony which was held at Westminster Abbey, London, on Saturday 6 May 2023. Desra came to represent President Joko Widodo who was unable to attend.

Mr and Mrs Ambassador preen themselves in red and white dresses with a touch of gold. Desra wore a kind of white hooded jacket, along with trousers covered with a red-based tapis cloth with gold motifs. High hats, as well as belts and additional cloth that hangs around the neck accompany them.

While his wife wore a white kebaya complete with cloth and a filter scarf. Not to forget, ethnic head ornaments made of gold metal. Their appearance as they entered Westminster Abbey was caught on BBC cameras.

In his tweet on Twitter, Desra revealed that the selection of traditional clothing, especially with Lampung literature, is not just to introduce Indonesian culture on the world stage. The gold color is seen as a symbol of diplomacy between the UK and Indonesia which represents the euphoria of this historic moment.

"As a form of respect, Sari & I wore traditional clothes #Lampung which matched the gold robes of King Charles III. #inidiplomasi #Indonesianway," wrote the man who is good at playing the saxophone.

He then explained further about the philosophy implied behind the pattern of the cloth. "The 'Jung Sahat' tapis motif depicts majesty and is generally only used at large traditional Lampung events," he tweeted.

At least, Desra added, it would take up to 3.5 months to complete it. This fabric is also made with natural dyes. In an Instagram Stories upload, Desra had included the account name for the cloth maker, namely Kalianda.

The choice of Lampung tapis cloth for this historic moment indirectly reminds again of the closeness of King Charles to Sumatra.

During his last visit to Indonesia in November 2008, Charles, who at that time still had the title of Prince of Wales, visited Jambi. Main on the agenda saw Hutan Harapan, a reforestation project which was a grant from the British Government. He also interacted with inland tribes in the forest.

The charm of Sumatra is also hard to deny when Charles made his first state visit to Indonesia in November 1989 with his wife at the time, the late Princess Diana.

Visiting Taman Mini Indonesia Indonesia, the parents of Prince William and Harry took the time to stop by the Gadang House on the West Sumatra pavilion. (*)

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