Don't I Look Great

Originated in Java which literally translated from Javanese etymology amba (’to write’) and titik (’dot’ or ‘point’) it’s a method to create patterns and dyeing cloth used since ancient Javanese dynasties. It is commonly used by Indonesian to attend a formal event like a wedding celebration, corporate event or other formal events.

A few months ago Bill Gates was giving a presidential lecture in Indonesia and he decided to wear Batik during his lecture, because he wish to honor the Indonesian culture and Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who’s the current president of Indonesia was amazed by his action. Besides wearing Batik gives you the comfort of a shirt without forgetting the formality, unlike when wearing suits which are stiff and too hot.

There are two types of Batik, factory-made batik and hand-made batik. Factory-made batik is cheaper than the hand-made batik. There are quite a few of these factories that produce imprint batik clothes, from major garment companies to home industries. The home industries however are sometimes selling short pants, bags, bathrobe and many more with batik motifs.

The Batik motif itself is dominated by motifs of flowers, twinning plants, leaves buds, flowers, birds, butterflies, fish, insects and geometric forms are rich in symbolic association and variety; there are about three thousand recorded batik patterns.

Aside from regular and prime cotton, silk is sometimes used for batik both factory-made and hand-made batik. Unlike factory-made batik, hand-made batik is sold in the form of cloth, and it’s up to the customer what kind of clothing they make with the help of a tailor. This hand-made batik is an exclusive commodities and sold for a few millions rupiahs (hundreds of US dollars).

The high price of hand-made Batik is because of the hard and complicated process to create the cloth and creating one could reach a few months to a few yearsto create one complete motif of Batik cloth. The patterns to be dyed into the cloth are drawn with a canting, a wooden ‘pen’ fitted with a reservoir for hot, and liquid wax.

An old lady drawing Batik motifs

In batik workshops, circles of women sit working at clothes draped over frames, and periodically replenish their supply of wax by dipping their canting into a central vat. Some draw directly on the cloth from memory; others wax over faint charcoal lines.

The benefits of wearing a hand-made batik are like:

• It’s an art, so you’re actually wearing an art.
• High quality, the quality of the garment and the motifs are very good. The motifs are made by batik artist with so many years of experience in drawing Batik’s motifs.
• Unique pattern, the pattern that you wear are unique and one of a kind.

There are a few varieties of Batik in Indonesia which has different motifs and characteristics. Some of the Batik types in Indonesia:

• Batik Solo.
  The Batik from Solo has the characteristics of chocolate and black colored and small-sized motifs. Birds are commonly used as motifs in Batik Solo.
• Jogjakarta Batik.
  The batik from Jogjakarta is dominated with white and black, and wider motifs compared to Batik Solo.
• Pekalongan Batik.
  This batik has more variety of color (blue, green, red, violet, etc especially the bright colors), more contrast in color, and influenced by the Chinese motifs, with flower and dragon motifs dominated this kind of Batik motifs.
• Madura Batik.
  Almost the same as the Pekalongan Batik but the color are dominated by red or red-influenced colors.
• Sidoarjo Batik.
  This tipe of batik is newer than the rest of batik type. It has a characteristic of motifs that resembles the Madura Batik but the color resembles Solo Batik and Pekalongan Batik.

Batik can be easily found and bought at shopping mall in Indonesia. Danar Hadi, Mirota and Keris are some of the credible Batik brands in Indonesia. They sell a lot kind of batik and made from various material, they also sells hand-made batik as well.

Batik Keris boutique

If you wished to see the live process of making Batik while shopping for some Batik, then Batik Keris gallery at Malioboro Jogjakarta is where you should go, and in Jogjakarta you could go to Pasar Beringharjo (Beringharjo Market) which is the center of Batik in all Jogja. But the quality offered at the market is lower and the products are cheaper than the ones sold in boutiques, if you’re visiting keep your wallet at a save place and the market is closed in 5 PM.

Nowdays Batik isn’t just used by some parents and in formal occasion. Batik now has become fashionable enough for teens especially for girls, and this kind of fashion is far away from the formal atmosphere.

It is also one of the nationalism movements reacting to the Malaysian claim of Batik. Malaysia claimed that Batik is one of theirs and this angers the Indonesian people. Batik had already been in Indonesian culture since centuries ago and we won’t stay quite when some foreign nation suddenly claimed that Batik was originated in Malaysia.

Batik is from Indonesia, and truly Indonesia.