 Sundanese men wearing iket buhun. | |
| Type | Traditional headgear |
|---|---|
| Material | Batik |
| Place of origin | Java, Bali, Lombok |
| Manufacturer | Sundanese, Javanese, Balinese |
Iket (Sundanese: ᮄᮊᮨᮒ᮪), also known as totopong (ᮒᮧᮒᮧᮕᮧᮀ), udeng (Sundanese: ᮅᮓᮨᮀ; Javanese: ꦲꦸꦝꦺꦁ, romanized: udheng) is a traditional headgear used throughout Java, Bali, and Lombok, usually made of batik fabric.
The term iket comes from the Sundanese language. Originally meant "to tie" or "to knot", it later evolved to specifically mean a type of tied cloth used as headwear. The term totopong is derived from the word tepung (to meet) with initial reduplication.
Iket or totopong is a part of the traditional Sundanese male attire, it holds high importance and prestige due to the diligence and patience required to wear one. Iket is traditionally used as fashion complementary for certain occasions such as traveling, visiting, or attending traditional ceremonies as a sign of honour and dignity. Other than fashion, iket also serves other functions such as to store items or money, as a self-defence weapon, or as a pad for prostration during prayers when prayer rugs aren't available. In modern times, iket is primarily used as a symbol of cultural heritage and has largely fallen out of wide use outside of cultural events.
While iket and totopong are often interchangeable in speech, totopong refers to a more low-class style headwear, worn by merchants, workers, and farmers, and is considered less polite to the more high and middle-class udeng worn by nobles or formal ceremonies. Iket is also differentiated into eras:
Iket has a wide variety of forms and types, they can be divided into usage and styles:
