Others Design

To conclude, for the time being, these are two others examples of colorful batik clothes.

Indramayu Design

The neighbouring area of Indramayu is a fishing community and was an important harbour on the north coast of Java often called at by foreign ships as well as vessels plying between the islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Batiking was done by by the wives of fishermen from the villages around Indramayu. They batiked when their husbands were away at sea, in order to supplement their incomes. For this reason they did not wish to make batik that would take too much time to complete. They used a large canting on plain cloth, and had hardly any filling on their batiks. To fill the empty space, they made cocohan (tiny dots) with an ustensil called the complongan shaped like a comb with fine needles used to penetrate the cloth already covered with wax. After deying, the dots take on the color of the dye. In its simplicity Dermayon batik has its own special attraction Motifs of batik made in fishing villages are greatly influenced by the flora and the fauna of the surrounding are, for example Jarot Asem (Javanese Tamarind), Dara Kipu or by the sea such as Gaggeng and Urang Ayu. These are all motifs of the coarse and cheaper batik made for common people.

Pekalongan Design

Most of these batiks were sarongs, perhaps because Dutch settlers found them easier to to wear. In this group of batiks we find the buketan motifs, depicting flowers and fruits thet grew in Holland, like chrysanthemums and grapes, and flowers arrangements in European style.

Solo Design

Some of the traditional motifs worn on certain occasions:

When making a proposal of marriage, the wali (male relative of the girl), wears a batik with the Satria Manah motif, denoting that when a satria or knight, took aim with his bow and arrow, the arrow would be sure to hit the target, meaning, of course that the proposal will be accepted. the family of the girl receiving the proposal wears batik with Semen Rante motif.

Rante, meaning chain symbolizes a close and binding relationship in conformity with the belief of Asians that breaking-off a relationship would damage the good name of the woman.

Solo The Second Sultanat

Solo ( now named Surakarta) was one of the two sultanates, with all the traditions and customs of their courts, and the center of Hindu-Javanese culture. The Kraton (or court) was not only the residence of the kings, but also the center of government, religion and culture.this was reflected in the art of the region, especially in its batiks: in the motifs as well as in the colors, and its special rules governing the wearing of batik. In solo there were special rules about wearing batik. These had to do with- the social position of the wearer - the occasion on which the batik was worn or used, in connection with the meaning and hope or wish symbolized by the motif. The cloth on the left is a detail of a kain panjang which was made in the workshop of Hardjonagoro in Surakarta in the early 80's. The motif combine influences of several region, but the overall style and the color are typical of Solo design The 'kain panjang' means 'long cloth'. It is a piece of cloth of approximately one by two and a half metre. It is used as the sarong, but the kain panjang is regarded as being more formal. The motifs of the Solo design are related to the Hindu-Javanese culture: the Sawat symbol of the crown or highest power, the Meru symbol of mountain or earth, the Naga symbol of the water, the Burung symbol of the wind or upper world and the Lidah Api symbol of the fire. In Solo there were special rules about wearing of batik. 1) the social position of the wearer, 2) the occasion on which the batik was worn or used. This was in connection with the meaning and hope or wish symbolized by the motif. Batik Sawat or Lar Batik Naga

At the Heart Of The Indonesian Batik

Yogyakarta the capital city of the most powerful and respected Kingdom of Java, is also at the heart of the Batik art.

All the old Traditions and customs are observed, as well as in Solo, and one can still find many symbols that are related to Hindu-Javanese culture.

The combination of motifs in Yogya batik is unique, and there is a tendency to combine a number of large geometric motifs.

The Grompol motif is a distinctively Yogya design customarily used for wedding ceremonies. Grompol, which means gather together symbolizes the coming together of all goods things, such as luck, happiness, children, and harmonious married life.

Grompol motif

The Nitik motif is found in great numbers in this area. During a colonial annual fair (Jaarbeurs) during the Dutch period, a batik producer gave the name Nitik Jaarbeurs to a motif which received an award.

Batik Nitik Sekar Tanjung	Batik Nitik Brendi

Main Kinds Of Designs

Althought Central Java is the centre of Javanese Batik, the design evolves according to the part of the region where it is manufactured. We are introducing the different kind of designs which are related to the usage in the day-to-day life as well as in the celebrations and finaly their characteristics by location as Yogyakarta, Surakarta or Solo, Pekalongan and Indramaju.

Kawung Prabu motif from Yogyakarta There is two main kind of batik designs: geometric and non-geometric. Classified under the geometric designs are Diagonal or Parang motif Squares, rectangles crosses or Ceplok and Kawung Weaving or Limar motifs and the non-geometric: Semen Lunglungan Buketan
Parang Rusak Barong Kawang Picus	Parang Baris Kawung Semar Moti

On The Eastern Routes

It results in a lively exchange of a variety of goods including ceramics and silks from China and the cinde or silk with the patola motif from the west of India.The foreign art and culture were absorbed and fused with the existing javanese one, resulting in new works of art with their unique beauty. Merchants from all over the world came to the Indonesian archipelago: Chinese, Indians, Portuguese, Arabs, Dutch, and British.
The growing importance of the region as a centre of trade between China in the East and India and Arabia in the West saw the emergence of a great Southeast Asian empire, the Srivijaya. Textiles were already among the major items of trade, like silk, brocade and damask brought from China, and cotton from India.
Chinese traders had been settling on the islands long before the arrival of the European powers (British, Dutch, in particular). Each of them have influenced by their own taste the design of batik.

Painting On Clothes

The art of "batiking" is similar to the one of drawing or painting on a piece of cloth.
The main tool, the canting ('tjanting'), is used in staed of a pencil or brush, and liquid wax (see paragraph here below)in stead of paint.
Finely detailed designs are first drawn freehand with a pencil on the textile. Then hot liquid wax is applied. Here above, a Javanese woman applying wax in the intricately involved patterns with a canting (tjanting), a small copper container with a long slender spout. From time to time she blows on the tip of the canting to secure an easy flow of the wax. Areas not slated for coloring are filed with the wax. The cloth is then passed through a vat of dye. The wax is removed with hot water, scraped from the portions of the dried material still to be dyed. The parts that were covered by the wax did not absorb the dye and thus remain white (or whatever color the original cloth was previously dyied). Since the wax behave as a resisting medium, this process is called resist-dye process. Next, other areas are waxed over. this is repeated during each phase of the coloring process, up to four or more times, until the overall pattern and effect are achieved.

Indonesian Batik Has A Worldwide Recognition

The word "batik" is Indonesian in origin, even if the concept was known by Egyptians and Indians. It is known to be more than a millenium old, and there are evidences that cloth decorated through some form of resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD in several West African, Middle-Eastern and Asian communities.

The word Batik is originally an Idonesian-Malay word and means to dot .This art of textile is spread in the hindu and malay world, but Indonesia is certainly the heart of the Batik.This way of painting and coloring textile has reached its higher degree of excellence in the Island of Java , in cities like Solo, Yogyakarta, Pekalongan or Cirebon. From Java this 'batik' cloth was exported to other islands of the archipelago and to the Malay peninsula.

On the 17th century, the Javanese sultanate of Mataram accorded important ceremonial functions to the Batik clothes. Sultan Agung of Mataram is known to have dressed in white cotton decorated with Indigo blue, and his court dancers wore kain kembangan colored with a red organic dye.

During the past two or three centuries batik has become one of the principal means of expression of the spiritual and cultural values of Southeast Asia.

Indonesian Art Of Textile

Although the process of decorating cloth through the process of batik is found in several regions in Africa or India and even in some South East Asian countries, the batik of Indonesia is unique and unequaled. Indonesian Batik is made in several regions, but the center of the art is Central Java, in cities like Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon, Pekalongan and Indramayu.

The pride of Indonesians to wear batik till the present day has preserve this art of textile.

The beauty of Batik is a tribute to the patience, creativity of the woman of Java, the main island of Indonesia. Credit should be also given to men who prepare the cloth and handle the dyeing and finishing process.

atik is generally thought of as the most quintessentially Indonesian textile. 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.