Huaulu Tribal Headband Beaver Fabric

The Huaulu tribe has one characteristic that is quite striking, especially in adult men. They have a tradition of headbands made of red cloth called cloth beaver. This headband is tied and covers the head of the wearer. The Huaulu community makes rags as a separate identity for Huaulu men who have reached puberty and are considered adults. Usually, a boy will wear this red headband in his teens, around 15-17 years old and will continue to wear it for the rest of his life.

Philosophy of Beaver Cloth

Apart from being a sign of maturity, this headband also serves as the pride of Huaulu’s men. The patrilineal system adopted by the Huaulu tribe makes men have more value and has always been the leader in Huaulu’s kinship. The red color on the Berang cloth also signifies the element of courage that is expected to exist in each individual Huaulu man. Therefore, this beaver cloth is also a mandatory ornament used when the men will go to war. When adapted to modern conditions where there are no more wars, beaver cloth is usually used when they hold traditional ceremonies and cakalele dances.

Similar Fabrics in the Naulu

At first glance, the headband of Huaulu is the same as the headband of their brother, the Naulu Tribe who lives in the South Seram region. Indeed, these two tribes have a fairly close family relationship. Both wear the same beaver cloth as a headband, but in different ways. For the Huaulu tribe, the beaver cloth is rounded to resemble the wearer’s head, while in the Naulu tribe, the beaver cloth is shaped so that it seems as if 2 sharp ears appear on the top side of the wearer’s head. The difference is only in its use, while the meaning and function are the same.

This Huaulu Tribe headband or Beaver Cloth is an inseparable part of the existence of this tribe. Kain Berang has become an identity not only for men but also for the Huaulu Tribe as a whole. However, this tradition has serious challenges when dealing with the conditions of an increasingly modern era. On the one hand, this tradition must understand the impact of modernization so that the Huaulu tribe can continue to survive from extinction, on the other hand the Kain Berang tradition is an ancestral heritage that has an important meaning to be maintained.