BATIK

According to some, the ancient textile art called batik, for which Java is particularly famous, was developed in the Middle East and introduced to Indonesia from India. Others claim China as it’s birthplace. Whatever the truth may be, there can be no doubt that the technical and artistic excellence of Javanese batik has never been surpassed.

Batik, is, fundamentally, a ‘resist-dye’ technique. The method involves creating a pattern on a plain cloth with molten wax which, when hardened, becomes dye-resisant. Only the unwaxed part of the cloth is affected when the material is dyed, the patterned areas remaining the original colour. The hardened wax is then scraped or boiled off and a fresh pattern can be applied. This process can be continued indefinitely, allowing for enormous complexity in design and subtlety of colour.

The traditional sarong and kain panjang are the two items most frequently produced. Both are rectangular textiles which are worn wrapped around the waist, extending to the ankles, the main difference being that the sarong is sewn together at the ends to form a cylindrical garment. A smaller textile, the selendang, which is used variously as a sash, shawl, headwrap, support for women carrying goods or young children etc., is also popular. Then there is the dodot, a batik cloth used largely for ceremonial puposes, which is both wider and longer than the kain. Other traditional uses for batik included square headcloths, temple decorations as well as flas and banners.

Wax is applied to the cloth in one of two ways. The original, and by far the more skilful method, is by means of a pen-like instrument known as canting, which consists of small copper resorvoir with a spout, attached to a short handle of wood or bamboo. The wax is ‘drawn’ on the cloth’s surface by hand, the size of the canting varying to suit the type of work to be carried out. In the hand of a skilled artist this instrument can archive designs the utmost delicacy and precision.

The other method of application is by hand pressing the wax directly onto the cloth using a copper stamp, or cap, which is far less time consuming. Today, most commercial batik kain and sarong are produced by the cap method, thogh large numbers of hand drawn textiles, known as batik tulis, contiue to be made. Some of these are so fine as to make it vitually impossble for the layan to distinguish cap from tulis. Matters are further complicated by the fact that some batik are produced by a comination of the two techniques. Nevertheless, with experience one can learn to spot the difference. A fairly reliable method is to look for a fault or inconsistency in one of the pattern elements. If this fault repeats it self regularly across the cloth one can be almost certain that the cap technique has been used. For purposes of identification, Javanese batik can be divided into two broad categories : those produced in the Sultanates of Solo and Yogya on the one hand, and those from other, mainly coastal districts. The former can bedescribed as somber, severe, restrained and ultimately classical, reflecting the ancient heritage of Hindu-Javanese culture. Colors are restricted to idigo/black, a brown known as soga, and white/cream. Patterns and motifs are steeped in symbolic meaning and recall a time when the pace of life was slower, when noblewomen in the courts practiced the art as a spiritual dicipline, developing what would seem today an extraordinary degree of patience and concentration.

Batik from the north coast of Java show’s a completely different character. In fact, the island’s history can practically be read from the wide variety of designs on these cloth. The artists make use of an enormous range of colours, both synthetic and natural , and abstract motifs, including those adapted from imported Chinese porcelain, Indian printed fabrics, Arabic calligraphy and even fairy tales of European origin such as ‘Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Cinderella’. The latter examples, reflecting European taste during the colonial period, are just some of the innovations which were introduced by Dutch and Eurasian residents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Batik today is can Indonesian national symbol. Men wear batik shirts and jackets on formal and festive occasions, while women continue to wear the kain. The last few years have seen an explosion of new styles and patterns, as well as funtions, and shops are full of batik clothing and accessories and all kinds of items for home funishing. In addition, a lively batik painting industry has grown up, especially in Yogyakarta, where well known artists include Sapto Hudoyo, Amri Yahya, Ardiyanto and Amron Eddy, to name just a few.

For more information about batik, visitors can contact the Batik Research Centre, Jalan Kusumanegara 2, Yogyakarta. Recomended place for purchasing batik are, among those listed in the directory. Batik Plentong in Yogyakarta and, in Solo, Danar Hadi and Batik Keris.