The Batik Shirt In Indonesian Culture

Jakarta - No official function, no formal banquet or act of state can occur in Indonesia without a very important ingredient: A batik shirt for the men participating. These garments are usually colourful with large patterns, flowers, birds, polka-dots, check and geometric shapes. When possible, the shirt is made of the finest material such as silk, which takes hours to paint, wax, dye and wash by hand on both sides.

Batik is to Indonesia what the dirndl is to Bavaria or the kilt to Scotland. The government wants to have batik put on UNESCO`s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The application will be considered in September.

On the edge of Jakarta a small batik atelier is hidden behind a rusty iron gate and a courtyard full of car tires. Eight or nine women are working there, bending over metres of material. They occasionally get up and go to a large pot full of liquid wax and scoop out enough to fill their small copper, bamboo-handle cans with long spouts that have a tiny opening at the end. This is the tool they use to apply the wax to the material in sometimes tiny pre-sketched patterns - metre after metre. They don`t say much and when they do speak it is in hushed tones. The work requires deep concentration.

“Batik belongs to the soul of the people,” said the man considered to be the father of the art form, Nursjirwan Tirtaamidjaja, better known as Iwan Tirta, 75, the most well-known batik designer in the country. “Batik is influenced by Indonesian art, music, legends, religion and dance,” he said. “It`s not easy, wax on material.” Cheap imports from China are a thorn in the side of the country`s association of batik cooperatives, which is demanding a stop to the imports.

“These can endanger the domestic market,” a representative of the association said.

Back in the workshop two men in yellow rubber boots pull the waxed material through a long, narrow tub where it is dyed. When the colour is correct, the material is placed into a steaming vat with a diameter of 2 metres. Thick pieces of wood under the vat heat it as a man stands at the edge stirring with an over-sized spoon as the wax melts off the material. Clumps of wax that are scraped out of the vat after the water cools lie around the outside. There`s a smell of candles in the air.

Tirta`s house in a upscale neighbourhood in Jakarta is like a museum. Doors and room separators with decorative carvings, commodes with heavy, ornate porcelain, a large picture of dignitaries of long ago - dressed in batik, of course - and in front of them sits a showcase doll with Tirta-designed material slung around it.

“Everything inspires me,” said Tirta. “Music, wood, flowers, books.” All types of books: “I read everything - from Vogue magazine to cook books.” His interest in batik arose while he was studying in the Netherlands.

“I recognized that I understood more about western culture than my own,” he said. He returned to Indonesia and dedicated himself to researching the history of batik. Nineteen of the country`s 33 provinces have their own motifs. There`s a pattern for every level of status, every age and every occasion. When a piece of Tirta`s material slides through his hands, he smiles happily.

“I was never interested in doing big business,” he said. “I don`t want to see every taxi driver wearing my designs. Mine are the Rolls Royce or the Mercedes among batiks.” And he charges accordingly. One of his shirts costs 250 euros (356 dollars).

“A good batik has snob appeal. It is waxed and dyed on both sides - even though this is something only the wearer knows,” Tirta said. “It`s like the Japanese bride who wears 12 layers of silk. It`s not seen, but it`s known to her."

UNESCO`s Intangible Cultural Heritage list for masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage has about 100 entries, including the carnival of Binche in Belgium, the Samba de Rode of Brazil and the Kankurang initiation ritual of Gambia and Senegal. Indonesia already has two things listed: the Kris dagger and the Wayang Puppet Theatre.

Tirta says adding batik to the list would give it recognition as art. He is horrified by government efforts to establish batik as a creative industry. “Creative and industry, they don`t fit together,” he said.

Source: http://www.earthtimes.org
Photo: http://www.iwantirtabatik.com

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