as a whole technique , technology , and development of related motifs and culture, UNESCO has designated it as a Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since October 2 , 2009. [ 3 ] Since then, October 2 has been designated as National Batik Day .

Batik-like fabric art techniques can be found in various cultures around the world such as Nigeria , China , India , Malaysia , Sri Lanka and other areas in Indonesia. Coastal Indonesian batik from Java has a long history of acculturation , with diverse patterns influenced by various cultures, and is the most developed in terms of patterns, techniques, and quality of workmanship compared to batik from other regions.

Batik has been considered by the public as an important cultural icon in Indonesia. Indonesian people wear batik as casual and formal clothing that can be used in various events.

Etymology

The Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language defines the Indonesian word batik as "a patterned cloth made specifically by writing or applying wax to the cloth, then processing it through a certain process." [ 4 ] This term is adopted from the Javanese bathik ( Javanese script : ꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ , Pegon : باتيق ). [ a ] ​​In the Javanese Baoesastra , bathikan can also mean "drawing" or "writing". [ 6 ] This meaning can be compared with the opinion of Robert Blust who traces the roots of the word bathik to the reconstruction of the Proto-Austronesian *batik and *beCik with the general meaning of "decoration" or "pattern."

In Java, the word bathik/batik was only recorded in written sources after the Hindu-Buddhist period, namely from the 16th century AD onwards. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] The only term that may be related to batik in Old Javanese sources is tulis warna which is thought to be equivalent to the modern batik tulis technique. [ 11 ] Outside Java, the word batik was first recorded in a shipping document in 1641 from a merchant ship sailing between Batavia - Bengkulu . [ 12 ] . The term batik became more widely known outside the Nusantara community after the publication of The History of Java by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1817 which contained an explanation of the batik-making process. [ 13 ] During the Dutch colonial period, Dutch sources used a number of spelling variations such as mbatik , mbatek , and batek .

History

Discoveries in Egypt show that this technique has been known since the 4th century BC, with the discovery of mummy wrappings that were also coated with wax to form patterns. In Asia , techniques similar to batik were also applied in China during the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) and in India and Japan during the Nara Period (645-794). In Africa , techniques similar to batik are known by the Yoruba people in Nigeria , and the Soninke and Wolof people in Senegal . [ 16 ] In Indonesia , batik is believed to have existed since the Majapahit era, and became very popular in the late 18th or early 19th centuries. The batik produced was all hand-drawn batik until the early 20th century and stamped batik was only known after World War I or around the 1920s.

Although the word "batik" comes from Javanese, the presence of batik in Java itself is not recorded. GP Rouffaer argues that the batik technique was probably introduced from India or Sri Lanka in the 6th or 7th century. [ 16 ] On the other hand, JLA Brandes (a Dutch archaeologist) and FA Sutjipto (an Indonesian historian) believe that the batik tradition is native to areas such as Toraja , Flores , Halmahera , and Papua . It should be noted that these areas are not areas influenced by Hinduism, but are known to have ancient traditions of batik making.

GP Rouffaer also reported that the gringsing pattern was known since the 12th century in Kediri , East Java . He concluded that such a pattern could only be formed using a canting tool so he argued that canting was invented in Java around that time. [ 18 ] Details of cloth carvings resembling batik patterns are worn by Prajnaparamita , a Buddhist goddess of wisdom statue from East Java in the 13th century. The details of the clothing feature intricate patterns of plant tendrils and flowers that are similar to traditional Javanese batik patterns that can be found today. This suggests that making intricate batik patterns that can only be made with a canting was known in Java since the 13th century or even earlier. [ 19 ] In the last quarter of the 13th century, batik cloth from Java was exported to the Karimata islands , Siam , and even as far as Mosul .

A legend in 17th century Malay literature , Sulalatus Salatin, tells of Admiral Hang Nadim who was ordered by Sultan Mahmud to sail to India to obtain 140 pieces of serasah cloth with a pattern of 40 types of flowers on each piece. Unable to fulfill the order, he made the cloths himself. Unfortunately, his ship sank on the way home and was only able to bring four pieces, which disappointed the Sultan. [ 21 ] By some interpreters, who? serasah is interpreted as batik.

In European literature, this batik technique was first described in the book History of Java (London, 1817) written by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles . He was once the British Governor-General in Java. In 1873 a Dutch merchant Van Rijekevorsel gave a piece of batik he had obtained during a visit to Indonesia to the Ethnic Museum in Rotterdam and it was in the early 19th century that batik began to reach its golden age. When exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, Indonesian batik amazed the public and artists.

Since industrialization and globalization, which introduced automation techniques, new types of batik have emerged, known as stamped batik and printed batik, while traditional batik produced by hand-writing techniques using canting and wax is called written batik. At the same time, immigrants from Indonesia to Malaysia also brought batik with them.

Now batik has developed in several places outside Java, even to foreign countries. In Indonesia batik has also been developed in Aceh with Aceh batik, Cual batik in Riau, Papua Batik, East Kalimantan Sasirangan batik, and Minahasa batik.

Batik culture

Batik is a craft that has high artistic value and has been part of Indonesian culture (especially Java) for a long time. Javanese women in the past made their skills in batik as a livelihood so that in the past batik work was an exclusive job for women until the discovery of " Batik Cap " which allowed men to enter this field. There are some exceptions to this phenomenon, namely coastal batik which has masculine lines as can be seen in the "Mega Mendung" pattern, where in some coastal areas batik work is common for men. In various regions in Indonesia have their own batik characteristics.

The tradition of batik making was originally a hereditary tradition so that sometimes a motif can be recognized as originating from a particular family's batik. Some batik motifs can indicate a person's status. Batik motifs will also differ according to their use, such as at weddings and others. In fact, until now some traditional batik motifs are only used by the royal families of Yogyakarta and Surakarta .

Batik is a legacy of Indonesian ancestors that still exists today. Batik was also first introduced to the world by President Soeharto, who at that time wore batik at the UN Conference. Batik is not only worn for the elderly or formal events. Currently, batik has countless patterns and models, and can be worn by all ages and events.

Batik pattern

The variety of batik patterns and colors is influenced by various local and foreign cultural influences. Initially, batik had a limited variety of patterns and colors, and some patterns were only allowed to be worn by certain groups, such as the palace. However, coastal batik absorbed various external influences, such as foreign traders and colonizers. Bright colors such as red were popularized by the Chinese ethnic group , who also popularized the phoenix pattern. European colonizers also took an interest in batik and the result was previously unknown flower patterns (such as tulips), objects brought by colonizers (buildings or horse-drawn carriages), and their favorite colors such as blue. Traditional batik maintains its patterns and is still used in traditional ceremonies because usually each pattern has its own meaning or symbol.

Manufacturing techniques

The process begins with washing the finished fabric (now usually plain cotton ), [ b ] then soaking it and beating it with a wooden mallet until smooth. The desired pattern is then drawn with a pencil and copied using hot wax, usually consisting of a mixture of paraffin or beeswax with plant resins. The wax acts as a barrier that prevents the absorption of color during the dyeing process. This barrier produces a negative pattern when the wax is removed from the dyed fabric. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Craftsmen can create intricate patterns with a variety of colors by repeating the waxing and dyeing process.

Wax barriers can be applied to fabric with a number of tools, such as canting, stamps, and brushes. [ 22 ] Canting is the most basic and traditional tool, primarily used for writing hand-drawn batik. The use of canting allows for small, fine pattern details, although the process is very labor-intensive. Stamped batik allows for faster and more efficient production, but at the expense of fine detail.

Hand-drawn batik

Batik tulis ( Javanese script : ꦧꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠꦸꦭꦶꦱ꧀; Pegon : باتيق توليس) is batik whose pattern is drawn using a canting. Cloth that has been given wax will be dipped in dye and then dried in the sun. Once dry, the wax is removed by boiling or scraping to produce a color contrast between the parts of the cloth that are blocked and not blocked. The process is repeated according to the number of colors and the complexity of the desired pattern. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] Canting are available in several sizes and some can produce compound dots/lines. Outside Indonesia, canting can have various shapes depending on the patterns that are usually made.

Stamped batik

Stamped batik (Javanese script: ꦧꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦕꦥ꧀; Pegon: باتيق چڤ) is batik whose pattern is drawn using a stamp. Stamps allow for faster filling of fabric areas than canting and also allow for more consistent pattern repetition (in fabric and between fabrics). The use of stamps allows for cheaper batik than hand-drawn batik that purely uses canti, although stamps still require special skills to produce good products. Stamp materials can vary. In medieval India, batik stamps tended to be made of wood. Stamps in modern Java generally use copper wires and strands that require special skills to make. The rest of the dyeing process is the same as hand-drawn batik.

Painted batik

Batik lukis (Javanese script: ꦧꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦭꦸꦏꦶꦱ꧀; Pegon: باتيق لوكيس) is a newer type that uses a combination of tools such as canting and brushes like painting to apply wax. Brushes are mainly used to cover large areas of fabric. The patterns in batik lukis tend not to have a set pattern.

Coloring

Regardless of the method of application of the wax, the coloring or immersion process is the same. The waxed fabric is dipped in a dye bath of the desired color. The wax is then scraped off or soaked in boiling water, leaving a negative pattern on the fabric. Before the invention of synthetic dyes, dyeing was one of the most complicated stages of batik making. Natural dyes, mostly from plants, do not always produce consistent colors. Craftsmen must consider how the dyes interact when a fabric requires multiple dyeing. Many craftsmen use special recipes based on the availability of local plants. Natural dyes also often require multiple immersions to produce a deep color, slowing down the production process. [ 31 ] Synthetic dyes simplify the process, but produce chemical waste that can be harmful to the environment. Environmental friendliness is one reason why some batik craftsmen continue to use natural dyes even though synthetic options are available.

Types of batik

According to the technique

Batik tulis is a cloth decorated with batik textures and patterns using hands. Making this type of batik takes approximately 2-3 months.

Stamped batik is a cloth decorated with batik textures and patterns formed with a stamp (usually made of copper ). The process of making this type of batik takes approximately 2-3 days.

Batik painting is the process of making batik by painting directly on white cloth.

According to the origin of manufacture

Javanese Batik

A cultural heritage of Indonesian people, especially in Java, which has been dominated by Javanese people from generation to generation. Javanese batik has different motifs. The difference in motifs usually occurs because the motifs have meaning, not just pictures, but contain meanings that they get from their ancestors, namely adherents of animism, dynamism or Hinduism and Buddhism. Javanese batik is widely developed in the Solo area or what is commonly called Solo batik, Yogyakarta or what is commonly called Jogja batik and Pekalongan City or what is commonly called Pekalongan batik.