Malaysia · Textile Hand-Calendering / Finishing Craft
Menggerus / Kraf Gerus
Menggerus is a Malay textile finishing technique that burnishes woven cloth — most often songket, batik, or tenun — to a smooth, lustrous surface using cowrie shell (siput gerus), soap-nut (buah lerak), starch (kanji), damar resin, and beeswax. Three named sub-techniques apply different finishes: gerus mentah (raw, beeswax-based), gerus masak (cooked, starch-based), and gerus layang (gold-dust embellished). Calendered cloth is worked into formal Malay dress — samping (menswear waist-cloth), kain kelubung (women's body-cover), selendang (shawl), and tengkolok (men's ceremonial headgear) — and calendering is also a required preparatory step before telepuk gold-leaf stamping. Recognized as a distinct national Adiguru Kraf craft since 1989.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed
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