In 2006 there was an earthquake just south of Yogya which killed thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Lame. Among those who suffered are Java's traditional artisans, including batik makers, silversmiths and agel makers (traditional weaving).
The International Organisation for Migration has started up a program running free tours to the workplaces of these artisans in areas affected by the earthquake. This is not only to teach people about traditional arts in Indonesia, but to bring tourism back to these areas and business back to these artisans. So, on Friday, I went with a big group of other ACICIS students to see some batik being made.
Batik is a traditional Javanese fabric-dying technique. There are several stages; drawing the pattern, putting wax over the pattern, dying the fabric, then washing the fabric.
When we all arrived, it was quite chaotic. There were Ibu-ibu (mothers, older women) everywhere, shaking hands, smiling and herding us in. We all gathered around in a claustrophobic circle to watch as these women worked.
The first lady was in charge of putting the pattern to the fabric. She drew dexterously onto the clean white sheet with pencil, tracing over a pattern on a lit desk.
The next stage was a group of three ladies, each putting wax with suprising speed onto the traced sheets of fabric. For some unknown reason, I was ushered forward, sat down and given the little tool like a pen with hot wax and allowed to have a go on a piece of spare fabric. As I'm sure my dear readers can see for themselves, I don't think I'll be making a living out of batik any time soon. The technique is to dip the tool into the pan of hot wax in the middle of the circle formed by the ladies, blow excess wax from the tip then carefully (but very quickly) apply the wax to the fabric. These ladies were incredible; note the subtle difference in quality between their work and mine.
After wax is put on the fabric, the fabrics are taken outside and washed in dye. The dye is usually either a brown, a yellow or a blue, but I saw some blood-red batik too. The ladies outside worked together, rinsing the fabric over and over and over, while explaining to us that the wax-then-dye process is done about ten to fifteen times for each sheet of fabric. After they were done, they hung the fabric on the line to dry before being waxed and dyed again.
After seeing each step in the batik process, we were all herded into the front of the shop, where all the completed batik was displayed. Some of the designs were incredible; exquisite and intricate stylised birds, butterflies, flowers and even elephants decorated the finished works. Each piece was being sold for Rp200,000; which is about $25. It's incredible to think that so many hours of work done by a team of so many people is worth only that much. I felt bad for only buying one, but I didn't have enough cash on me for two. Choosing one was really hard, and just when I'd picked one, one of the other ACICIS people took it! I ended up choosing a brown batik, with what looks like birds of paradise covering it. Each piece had the designer's name on the bottom, and one of the Ibu proudly showed me one of her own designs. The Ibu-Ibu were also really keen to have photos taken, both with me and with their works. They were so adorable.
So, I guess this is a pretty cliche thing to talk about when talking about Indonesia. Most people who know anything at all about Indonesia know about batik. However, it is still such an important part of Indonesian culture and tradition, and I think initiatives such as these are a really effective way of allowing tourists to see and experience authentic art in the making, as well as bringing business back to areas hurt by the 2006 earthquake. Haha, I should be paid for advertising like this!!
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