Ulos as Batak Cultural Wisdom Towards World Heritage

Indonesia is a country rich in cultural heritage, customs, traditions, arts and local wisdom. As a rich country from Sabang to Merauke, Indonesia is a paradise for culture lovers and observers. Every year millions of tourists, both foreign and domestic, have a vacation to enjoy the natural beauty and unique cultural charm. The Indonesian nation is famous for being a pluralistic or heterogeneous nation. Religious systems and sociocultural values whose roots are the same, but in terms of their implementation are determined and influenced by the cognition, perception and social environment of each ethnic group (Napitu et al, 2020). Our nation has various ethnic groups, cultures, religions and customs (traditions). According to Sitompul et al (2020), Regions in Indonesia are mostly dominated by the Javanese and Batak tribes. Everything is reflected in the daily life of the Indonesian people, one of which is the result of the Batak culture, namely Ulos. In the realm of cultural heritage is divided into two categories, namely (1) Intangible Cultural Heritage and (2) Tangible Cultural Heritage. Based on the source from the PDSP of the Ministry of Education and Culture, what is meant by intangible cultural heritage is all practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills, as well as tools, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces that are recognized by the community or group. Examples of intangible cultural heritage are performing arts, traditional crafts, traditions and oral expressions, community customs, rituals, celebrations and knowledge. Meanwhile, cultural heritage objects are cultural heritage that can be sensed with the eyes and hands, for example various artifacts or sites such as temples, monuments and others. Abstract

Currently, from Indonesia, 3 intangible cultural heritages have been registered as world heritage and recognized by UNESCO, including Batik, Keris and Wayang. Batik is not just about the process of making a pattern on a piece of white cloth and then drawing it with wax and dipping it in dye until it is finished, but there is a lot of knowledge intertwined in it, including its history, its spread throughout the archipelago, and the meaning of the motifs. many kinds of. The same is the case with ulos which has a sacred value in every Batak tribal procession. Ulos cloth is a thought and has high quality art in the manufacturing process because it is an ancestral heritage. According to J. Keuning in Saragih et al (2019), that the Batak tribe is one in the principles of civilization, but varies in its manifestation in material and spiritual life.
The sacred value of ulos is a picture of the inner world of the Batak people. Therefore not all ulos can be used in everyday life. Ulos is part of traditional traditions and ceremonies, a symbol of an event, a representation of individual status from users to social status. In the past, weaving ulos should not be done carelessly. During the process of making ulos or weaving there are restrictions (Sihombing, 2013). In the current era, making ulos consists of 2 parts, namely making ulos using a manual and using a machine. The use of machines is for larger and more efficient production of ulos because the time used is shorter than the manufacture of manual ulos woven by partonun.
On October 17, 2014, ulos was designated as "Indonesia's intangible cultural heritage" as stipulated by the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia (Mohammad Nuh). Now every October 17th is celebrated as National Ulos Day, this step is an important one to identify any ancestral cultural heritage such as Batik. After the ulos was designated as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia, then the intersection was with regard to the Advancement of Indonesian Culture.
Looking at the procedures involved in submitting world heritage applications, which I have quoted from the page kebudayaan.kemendikbud.go.id, namely (1) recording, (2) determination, (3) efforts of communities and related institutions (government and nongovernment) ), (4) selection of the Ministry of Education and Culture with a special team, (5) selection to become a UNESCO NOMINATION. Indonesia, (6) trials in Indonesia and file preparation, (7) Proposals (8) Completing forms.
So far, the journey towards one of the world heritage in the category of intangible cultural heritage is still being pursued. There is still time each year to continue completing the requirements and joint efforts are made, as for things that are still running over time include research to enrich literacy about ulos, support for various ulos festivals, holding various scientific meetings on the study of ulos, carried out Ulos virtual fashion show that has just been carried out during this pandemic as well as community empowerment for the welfare of Ulos actors and suppliers.
If a cultural heritage becomes a world heritage with existing recognition, various assistance will emerge in the framework of its preservation. UNESCO is not only obliged to provide financial assistance, but also to monitor, protect and ensure that a culture will not end in extinction. Every culture that has historical values and extraordinary universal values has the right to receive the title and recognition of world heritage. That is what various parties are trying to do with ulos.
The method used in writing this paper is descriptive method. Descriptive method is a research method aimed at describing existing phenomena (Sudjana, 2008: 317). The data collection technique was carried out through literature studies. Data analysis includes four components, namely data collection, data reduction, data display, data verification or conclusion drawing. The reason the authors study this is to describe ulos as a Batak cultural identity which has been established as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia and in an effort towards world heritage, as well as to increase literacy about Ulos.

Symbolic Interactionism Theory
In this theory, George Harbert Mead argues that meaning appears as an interaction between humans, both verbally and non-verbally. In Mead's description, interactions do not only take place through movements but also symbols that need to be understood and understood their meaning. The three main concepts according to Mead which are integrated in this theory are society (society), self (self) and mind (mind). The essence of symbolic interaction in Mulyana (2001: 68) is an activity that is characteristic of humans, namely communication or exchange of symbols that are given meaning.
Ulos has many varieties and each has a function as a symbolic interaction tool that has been agreed upon and understood by the Batak community. Not limited to the ulos alone, but who is the ulos giver and the recipient of ulos as one of the interactions has meaning and purpose. Pardosi (2008: 107) explains that the symbolic meaning of ulos generally consists of 3 parts, namely: memorization (thick) provides warmth of the body and spirit for those who receive it. Sitorop Rambu (many signs at the end of the ulos) means to get many sons and daughters for those who receive it. Ganjang (long) which means that people who receive it will have a long life.

Ulos as a Batak Cultural Identity
National identity can use various symbols such as language symbols and symbols of other cultures. Symbol comes from the Greek word "sys-ballein" which means throwing together an (object, action) or "symbolos", which means a sign or feature that tells someone something. Symbol is a form that marks something other than the embodiment of the symbolic form itself. "A symbol is a sign which refers to the object that is denotes by virtue of a law, usually an association of general ideas, which operates to cause the symbol to be interpreted as referring to that object" (Putri, 2010: 5). In this case, ulos is a symbol used by the Batak community in conveying prayers and as a symbol of affection for the recipient of ulos.
Society and culture give birth to a cultural identity of the community itself, namely a cultural identity which will later become the identity of the nation. As in the writing of Tilaar (2007: 37) that national identity is a comprehensive picture of a nation, one of which is the Indonesian nation. The whole social values that are recognized by agreement by the Indonesian people are called the identity of the Indonesian nation. The Batak community has an inseparable cultural identity, namely Ulos, which is finally recognized as the identity of the Indonesian nation. This identity can be seen by the determination of ulos as an intangible inheritance of Indonesia on October 17, 2014, which was determined by the Indonesian Minister of Education andCulture Decree Number 270 / P / 2014, dated October 8, 2014.
The emergence of ulos based on the socio-historical context is part of the life of the Batak people for a long time. "Ulos is a piece of Batak woven cloth with a certain pattern and size where the ends hang long. This cloth originally served to protect the body and was always done by women using cotton" (Niessen, 1993: 51). From the original language, ulos means cloth, because in the beginning, ulos was used as a wrapper or body warmer. In its development, ulos is used as part of the implementation of traditional ceremonies. This sacred object is a symbol of blessing, affection and unity, as in the writing (Niessen, 2009: 63) which reads Ijuk pangihot ni hodong, ulos pangihot ni holong which means that if palm fiber is the binding of the midrib on the stem, ulos is the binder of affection between fellow.
According to the beliefs of the Batak ancestors, there are three sources that provide heat (warmth) to humans, namely the sun, fire and ulos (Marpaung, 2015). The sun rises and sets itself all the time. A fire can be lit at any time, but it is not practical to warm the body, for example, the size of the fire must be kept at all times so that sleep is disturbed. But this is not the case with ulos which are very practical to use. Based on the three sources of warmth, ulos is considered the most comfortable and familiar with everyday life. In ancient times, the ancestors of the Batak tribe were mountain humans (their historical designation). By inhabiting the highlands means that they must be prepared to fight against the chill of the weather. This is where the history of Ulos begins.
In the beginning, ulos were made only for their own needs, so that almost every family could weave ulos. With the surrounding material, namely cotton or hemp thread, ulos is woven with a very simple tool that is moved with both hands and feet. The process of making ulos does not have a special ceremony, but because of its sacred use, the way it is made is tied to a predetermined procedure. To produce a sheet of ulos it can take weeks or even months depending on the difficulty of the ulos to be woven. Weaving work requires patience, perseverance, an image of a sense of art, and even a sense of devotion (Siregar, 2017: 2). First, by using a tool called poultry and poultry. When finished then thread and roll. The next step is weaving in the local language called martonun, which is inserting the threads into a wooden loom. The type of loom used is hasoli, which is a roll on a stick with a length of about 30 cm; turak is a tool used to insert threads from the gaps between the weaving threads. The tool is made of small bamboo like a flute with hasoli filling.
The hatudungan is a loose knitting tool for loosening the weave so that the turak can be inserted; baliga is a tool made of palm tree trunks and is used to tighten threads that have been inserted by pressing several times. Pamunggung is a tool in the form of an arrow, on the right and left there is a rope to pull when weaving. The parts of the loom are an integral part that cannot be separated during the weaving process.
A sheet of ulos requires thousands of threads of different colors, each of which has been wound in hasoli. The hasoli-hasoli then enter into the turret and then the turak in and out between the threads that have been stretched to form the ulos. Once you continue the process of working on the ulos until the stretch of the threads gradually turns into a piece of cloth. During the weaving period, the weaver's body is tied to the weaving equipment, so that it cannot move freely. Usually the looms will be removed when the weaver wants to take a break or want to do other work. The weaver's persistence determines whether or not an ulos is completed. Below is a brief overview of the process of making ulos.  Mangulosi is a traditional activity that is very important for the Batak people. Quoting Agustina's writing (2016) in every activity such as wedding ceremonies, births, and mourning ulos, it is always part of the tradition that is always included. The use of ulos in traditional activities has not changed like ulos yeast hotang. Ulos yeast hotang is usually used when a traditional party is given to a newly married couple in the hope that they will bond (Niessen, 1993: 102).
Apart from customary ulos, it is also used in this modernization era. Ulos is an attraction for fashion designers who are then used as the main material in fashion shows. In this case, making ulos also uses machine looms which makes ulos mass produced by machine, printing, with textile dyes. This is one of the steps to preserve the typical Batak cloth. In addition to fashion, in a pandemic like now, masks with ulos motifs have emerged to remain fashionable but cultured. Ulos has become part of Indonesian culture, the times and people's concern have made it known to the wider community and even worldwide (Mulyadi, 2016).
From the explanations above, the writer interprets two main things, namely; 1) Ulos is cloth that is used as daily clothes, ulos which means only for preservation, does not have an important role in traditional ceremonies. 2) Ulos as traditional cloth (ulos adat) for the official activities of the Batak community and for Batak traditional ceremonies, so it also has its own meaning.

Ulos as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia
Cultural heritage according to the UNESCO definition presented in the Draft Medium Term Plan 1990-1995 is: … The entire corpus of material signs -either artistic or symbolic -handed on by the past to each culture and, therefore, to the whole of humankind. As a constituent part of the affirmantion and enrichment of cultural identities, as a legacy belonging to all human kind, the culture heritage gives each particular place its recognizable features and is the storehouse of human experience. The preservation and the presentation of the cultural heritage are therefore a corner-stone of any cultural policy. The above can be interpreted that cultural heritage as a marker of culture as a whole, both in the form of works of art and symbols, is a material that is contained in culture which is transferred by human generations in the past to the next generation. The main element that enriches and shows the bond between the identity of a generation and the previous generation is a legacy for all humanity. Cultural heritage provides a marker of identity to every place and space, and is a repository that stores information about human experience.
Intangible cultural heritage is intangible, such as concepts and technology. Its nature can pass and disappear over time with the times such as language, music, dance, ceremonies, and various other structured behaviors (Edi Sedyawati: in the introduction to the Seminar on Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2002). Recording and designation of cultural works is important, because cultural works or intangible cultural heritage contribute to social cohesion, fostering a sense of identity and responsibility that helps individuals feel part of one or more different communities and feel part of the wider community.
This intangible cultural heritage is passed down from generation to generation, which is continuously recreated by communities and groups in response to their surrounding environment, their interactions with nature and their history, and provides a sustainable sense of identity, to appreciate cultural differences and human creativity (Kemendikbud, 2018: 17).
The Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Diplomacy (Kemendikbud) through Binsar Simanullang in 2019 explained that Indonesia's intangible cultural heritage is our identity, national identity. After the establishment of ulos as an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia, the use of ulos has increased along with its creation in the public sphere. Starting to get the attention of each stakeholder on the ulos cloth and the manufacturing process. Apart from that, discussions are often held to understand ulos from its historical, meaningful philosophy, and so on. What is impossible to miss is the celebration and reflection to commemorate Ulos every year on October 17 to make ulos even more popular (Marbun: Ulos Online National Seminar towards World Heritage).
As an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia, everyone who is engaged in the Creative Industry, especially those with themes of ancestral cultural heritage such as ULOS must first know the philosophy, history and cultural values of their ancestors. Because creative industry activities, there needs to be 'ADVANCEMENT', for example motives, techniques, philosophies, including materials. Creative industry must also be used in introducing culture, and not just economic opportunities. a. One cloth can tell a lot of things because behind the cloth (and its motives) there is a thick culture and philosophy. It is in this context that the preservation of cultural heritage such as ULOS is important. For example, the Maratur star motif in the Batak traditional philosophy is as an intermediary for joyful greetings or happy news given to people who receive blessings or sustenance. b. Learning ULOS motifs is certainly very interesting, along with other cultures they also recognize motifs. Through motives, we can see the minds of the people who support their culture. Through motives too, we can compare them with the motives that have developed from other tribal communities both in the archipelago and in other parts of the world. For example, one of the ULOS Ragi Sapot motifs has similarities with the weaving motifs in the Kajang Tribe, it has the same function. With this similarity of motives, the question will naturally arise, whether this could be a cultural unity or are there other reasons that could explain the similarity of motives and functions. This is one of the interesting things in studying ULOS motifs.

Ulos Towards a World Heritage
Cultural issues are very sensitive because they cover the identity and characteristics of a country in the eyes of other countries, especially in international relations. Indonesia has experienced several problems with other countries regarding cultural claims. Lusianti (2012: 2) said that the widespread issue of claiming culture has resulted in the government taking a stance to save Indonesia's cultural wealth by starting to make an inventory of the existing cultural wealth.
UNESCO as one of the United Nations organizations specifically engaged in the education, social and cultural sectors has put in place a number of international laws, both binding and non-binding in the context of preserving Cultural Heritage. The scope of UNESCO's international law includes both material (objects) and immaterial (intangible) objects. UNESCO member countries are obliged to identify the culture that is to be proposed as a world cultural heritage.
The role of UNESCO is to check, make observations and assessments as well as ensures that all the criteria that have been made can be implemented. In her writing, Rani (2015) states the role of UNESCO in preserving world culture, namely: a. Forming conventions that give birth to a commitment to protect world culture b. Able to form rules of the game that govern world cultural heritage c. Able to be a space for member countries to discuss and dialogue specifically about culture d. Produce a committee that provides classification and assessment criteria, as well as conducts assessments e. Defining and recognizing a culture as a world cultural heritage f. Providing protection, supervision and preservation of world cultural heritage. g. Ensuring the guaranteed rights of world cultural heritage. h. Ensuring that a world cultural heritage continues to receive assistance in the framework of preservation i. Ensuring that a world cultural heritage does not experience extinction and destruction. j. Ensure that a cultural heritage continues to receive financial support, be it from UNESCO, or from the international community k. Ensuring a world cultural heritage is beneficial for current and future generations.
The flow of assessment and criteria by UNESCO in determining a heritage or culture can be recognized as a world heritage, including: a. The state carries out the process of submitting a heritage, culture, site, etc. to UNESCO through a predetermined procedure b. UNESCO will provide a classification of a heritage or culture, namely whether it is tangible or intangible. Is it cultural heritage or natural heritage. c. If it is tangible, it must have clear boundaries, have form, have form, and have value.
UNESCO will also see whether the objects are man-made, or if there is no human intervention at all, in other words, purely natural products d. If it is intangible (for example in the form of a system) then it must have values that can be assessed, be it cultural values, religious values, spiritual values, artistic values, and so on. e. The main values seen by UNESCO are universal extraordinary values or what are known as universal outstanding values. f. UNESCO looks at historical aspects, cultural aspects, social aspects, religious aspects, and so on. The more aspects it contains, the greater the chance it will become a world cultural heritage g. UNESCO sees the benefits and impacts received by society and future generations h. UNESCO sees the capacity for threat, be it a direct or indirect threat to a heritage or culture i. UNESCO conducts an assessment of the application file attempted by the submitting country. Assessment is not only academically or for the benefit of science, but rationally. From the 9 points above, if we highlight points 6 and 7 it is clear that ulos, seen from historical, cultural aspects as well as benefits and impacts on the next generation, would have fulfilled it to become a world heritage. The next generation needs to know that this ulos is a picture of the inner world of the Batak people.
Initially, world cultural heritage was only centered on buildings, monuments, or tangible objects of human ancestors. This is starting to shift where not all cultural heritage is tangible. In the 1990s there was a change in the concept of cultural heritage, namely the existence of intangible cultural heritage.

Basis and Obligations of Establishing World Heritage
The Indonesian government has ratified the UNESCO convention, namely the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to become Presidential Regulation Number 78 of 2007 concerning Ratification of the Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. As a result of the ratification, Indonesia is obliged to: a. Periodically report the progress of the preservation of intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO, b. Preserving cultural heritage in accordance with the signs specified in the convention, c. Proposing a new cultural heritage to become a cultural heritage that is recognized by UNESCO on a regular basis The Indonesian government has also ratified the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions into Presidential Regulation Number 78 of 2011 concerning the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Impact of ratification: a. This convention guarantees artists, professional humanists, practitioners and the general public to be able to create, produce, distribute and enjoy various cultural goods, services and activities. b. This Convention recognizes the right of states to take steps to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions and treats obligations at both the domestic and international levels. c. The Indonesian government is obliged to propose a new cultural heritage to become a cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO on a regular basis, and d. The Indonesian government is also obliged to prepare a strategy to preserve the established cultural heritage.

Figure 5. The process of Submitting Intangible Cultural Heritage to UNESCO
Currently, Ulos is in stage 5, namely submitting proposals to UNESCO. Under the auspices and responsibilities of the Aceh BPNB (Cultural Value Conservation Center) which has the task of carrying out the PRESERVATION (protection, development and utilization) of the aspects of tradition, belief, art, film and history in its working area. In the development of cultural values, of course, it is related to the advancement of culture. The definition of cultural advancement in Law No.5 of 2017 on Cultural Advancement is an effort to increase cultural resilience and the contribution of Indonesian culture in the midst of world civilization through the protection, development, utilization and fostering of culture. Of the 10 objects of cultural advancement, from Ulos there are at least 5 objects including traditional technology, art, oral traditions, customs, and rituals.
BPNB Aceh is working with related parties to continue to develop and preserve ulos. So far what has been done is: a. conduct research to enrich literacy about ulos b. supporting various ulos festivals c. carry out various scientific meetings on the study of ulos d. network with communities that preserve ulos e. carry out a virtual ulos fashion show As for the follow-up plan by BPNB Aceh that was conveyed by Mrs. Irini Dewi Wanti (Chair of the Aceh BPNB) at the Ulos National Seminar towards World Heritage on October 17, 2020 for the next 5 years, including: festivals and seminars for the moment of Ulos (2020), Ulos festival in the lake area toba (2021), encyclopedia ulos (2022), film about ulos (2023), and facilitation of ulos conservation network (2024).
Every year, various kinds of events are held, one of which is the Ulos Fest 2019 which was attended by the chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo (12 November 2019), he expressed his support in realizing Ulos as a world heritage. The series of events carried out at the 2019 Ulos Fest include seminars, FGDs, workshops, exhibitions, weaving demonstrations, bazaars, fashion shows accompanied by Manortor offerings. Apart from Bamsoet, North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi gave his appreciation at this event and supported the efforts of Ulos to become a world heritage and the need to establish the Ulos museum.
One of Ulos' achievements on the world stage is Ulos Harungguan who won an award from the World Crafts Council in 2018 which is affiliated with UNESCO. In addition, Ulos Harungguan became a souvenir at the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington DC and Bali. What is the important value of Ulos Harungguan with other ulos fabrics is that there is no repetition of the motive in the manufacturing process, and in the past, Ulos Harungguan was only used by kings and prominent circles. This is what makes Ulos Harungguan have a higher value than other types of ulos.

Figure 6. Ulos Harungguan
Seeing the facts that this ulos has great potential and can become a promising industry without forgetting its cultural and historical values. However, it is very unfortunate that the ulos weavers are able to work but do not know how to market them. One of the people who care about ulos is Torang Sitorus (international fashion designer and ulos collector) who accompanies the partonuns. With the hope that Ulos will soon become a world heritage, then there will be more attention to ulos. Viewed from the traditional side, ulos still maintains its historical value and remains part of traditional events, but to preserve and prosper the partonuns in the ulos economic industry with other motives can be used as a variety of creativity and appear on the world stage

IV. Conclusion
Indonesia as a country that is rich in cultural heritage and local wisdom is an attractive place for culture lovers and observers to enjoy the natural beauty and cultural charms that are diverse and unique. Cultural heritage consists of 2, namely intangible cultural heritage and material cultural heritage. One of the intangible cultural heritages that Indonesia has is Ulos, which is the cultural identity of the Batak people. Ulos which was originally a cloth to warm the body but in its development it became a thought and has high quality art to be used in traditional Batak events, be it birth, marriage or death. On October 17, 2014, Ulos was declared an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia by the Minister of Education and Culture. This step paved the way for further recognition, namely to become a world heritage (world heritage). Periodically, each country proposes cultural heritage to be registered with UNESCO and ulos receives support from many parties to be proposed so that ulos remain preserved and bring prosperity to the partonun community. Along with the times, the use of ulos is divided into 2 things, namely 1) Ulos is a cloth used as everyday clothes, ulos which means only for preservation, does not have an important role in traditional ceremonies. 2) Ulos as traditional cloth (ulos adat) for the official activities of the Batak community and for Batak traditional ceremonies, so it also has its own meaning.