Indonesia Honors the Beauty of Batik

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - People across the country celebrated National Batik Day on Sunday, marking two years since the United Nations recognized the wax-resist dyeing technique as a world cultural heritage.

In Yogyakarta, the heart of batik culture, Mayor Herry Zudianto launched a new book about batik and conferred awards to local batik artisans.

“Yogyakarta is known for its special type of batik,” Herry said. “The city has a batik museum and a batik monument, which educate [the public] about the craft.”

Batik exhibitions, fashion shows and bazaars were also held on Sunday throughout the Java city, including at the Seni Sono Gallery, where the batik monument is located, and at the Gadjah Mada University campus.

In Surabaya, US Consul General Kristen F. Bauer also got into the spirit, participating in a batik dyeing lesson hosted by the Surabaya Heritage Society in the East Java capital.

“I like it, but now that I know how difficult it is [to make], I appreciate it even more,” she said.

Bauer added that batik and its attendant traditions constitute a “very interesting” culture and deserved to be recognized and preserved.

The heritage society event also welcomed participants from Germany and France, including longtime Surabaya residents and batik collectors Kurt and Dian Kyriss.

“We were impressed the first time we saw Yogyakarta batik,” said Kurt, from Germany. “So we bought it and now our batik collection amounts to 2,000 pieces that will remain at our home in Surabaya.”

Lintu Tulistyantoro, head of the Surabaya Batik Community (Kibas), said batik played a key role in the region’s culture.

“It is used in all important rituals, from marriage proposals and weddings, to births and funerals,” he said. “There is no aspect of life here untouched by batik.”

In an effort to introduce Indonesian batik to an international audience, organizers of the annual hajj pilgrimage also issued batik uniforms to those Indonesians who began embarking from Solo for Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Achmad Suaidi, head of the local organizing committee’s embarkation unit, said the pilgrims’ batik blended motifs from several different batik-producing parts of the country.

In Bandung, Sendy Yusuf, chairwoman of the Batik Foundation of West Java (YBJB) , praised batik and said Indonesians should be proud of the Unesco honor.

Sendy, who is also the wife of West Java Deputy Governor Dede Yusuf, said the recognition had helped popularize batik and revive the industry, which was struggling in the province. “There should be no stopping us from continuing to love, buy and wear batik from West Java,” Sendy said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

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