As a cultural product that is easily recognizable and easy to use, batik gives color but at the same time can be flexible and suitable in various situations.
When batik was chosen as a marker shirt or ” dress code ” at the UN Security Council Session which took place on Tuesday (7/5/2019) in New York, United States, it must be admitted that it was a smart idea.
Batik is not only a sign of respect for Indonesia, who became president of the UN Security Council in May, but on the other hand indirectly becomes a symbol of Indonesia’s diplomacy.
Batik, is a form of fashion or fashion craft that is very typical of Indonesia. As a cultural product that is easily recognizable and easy to use, batik is like a messenger that Indonesia’s role in world peace is like batik to the wearer. He gives color but at the same time can be flexible and suitable in various situations. As the motto of Indonesia’s diplomacy, free and active.
Cross Ocean Trade
The development of batik in Indonesia represents a long history which stretches from when the Austronesian peoples from the South China region were able to penetrate the Malay Archipelago to the Pacific. Traces of civilization characterized by square axes mark the emergence of ancestors who have the ability to process wood, ceramics, to embroidery or weaving.
Patterns of angular lines with mosaic forms are found in many artifacts that are thought to have come from the Dong-son or Nekara-Bronze civilization. Experts estimate its age is around 2000 years ago.
The weaving technology itself, experts estimate, has been known in the archipelago since two hundred years BC. Michael Hitchcok, a researcher from Hull University, estimates that this period coincided with the reign of the Han dynasty in China. The bronze statues have similarities with those found in eastern Indonesia. The artifact shows the figure of a person weaving. Both the statues from the Han dynasty and from Flores show the figure of a weaver using a ikat loom. The Javanese know him as Gedogan.
The history of the development of Southeast Asian looms is then engraved in the reliefs of the Borobudur temple. Images of women pulling bamboo slats which are part of the ikat loom can be seen in the reliefs which are thought to have been made in the 9th century AD.
The record of the Chinese historian Yi Jing is one that records the journey of the Buddhist monks who studied in Srivijaya at that time. Part of the record about this big country on the island of Sumatra has been familiar with cotton weaving technology. Even the king who was on the northern tip of Sumatra Island was recorded to have worn silk. What is clear, the development of genomic research technology for the ancestors of Southeast Asian people, has confirmed that the sea trade routes in the Indian Ocean have indeed been very diaspora since at least 2000 years ago.
Records of documents governing the region of Sima (perdikan) in the period from the 10th to the 15th century AD show traces of the development of further weaving technology products. Jan Wisseman Christie, also from Hull University, observed a wide variety of cloth as an offering in a ceremony in honor of high court officials.
The testimony of Ma Huan (15th century), a recorder from Zheng He’s fleet, and Tome Pires (16th century), a pharmacist from Portugal, are further clues to the existence of woven products in Indonesia. Whether imported from India or China, these fabrics have become clothing that is worn every day.
The cosmopolitan merchant settlements along the northern coast of Java show the beauty of their inhabitants. They look attractive and beautiful as a result of mixed marriages between nations. From this region will come a new ruling class along with the development of Islam.
Practically since the arrival of the Portuguese and their success in occupying Malacca, records about woven products, cotton, silk, and what came to be known as batik have begun to enter the world’s treasury. It was the Dutch who first recorded the word ‘batick’ in 1641. Records of shipments from Batavia to Sumatra show a package of clothing with that name. It was also the Dutch who later developed the textile trade and pioneered the batik industry in various areas which until now have become batik ‘clusters’.
Batik Nusantara Cluster
A flashback of the history of Indonesian batik, from prehistoric times, the Middle Ages, to the early modern era, shows a long trail of batik as a world cultural heritage. As a cultural product that is inherent in itself as a fusion of various nations, batik is indeed appropriate to be present in international cultural associations.
Until modern times, batik in Indonesia in general can be found in various regions. The former first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, in her book My Batik Stories (2010) classifies the batiks that have developed in Indonesia into several groups. The first is Priangan Batik, which includes Garut and Tasikmalaya. The second is Coastal Batik, whose territory stretches from Betawi, Indramayu, Cirebon, Pekalongan, Lasem, Tuban, and Madura. While the third is Inland Batik. Its territory includes Banyumas, Bagelen-Kedu, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Sragen, and Pacitan.
The division of Indonesian batik in the various clusters above has a complex and diverse historical background. Coastal Batik for example. Shades, Chinese, Indian, Persian, to Portuguese and Dutch all have various expressions. Several developments in history have also dictated various styles and tastes. Meanwhile, inland batiks in many ways inherit an older tradition but in a very modern expression.
Several historical conflicts and wars in past history are also differentiating why some very popular variations of batik cannot be found or are not popular in other regions.