2. How batik could be a
signature Malay textile;
reflective of the Malay
identity as a global citizen?
3. Objectives
• To examine Malay identity as embodied by
the batik through its origins
• To analyse the movement and evolution as
a commodity in order to tease out how
batik participates in globalization
• To look at Malay’s aspirations of batik as a
symbol of their identity
4. Overview
• What is Batik?
• How Batik came to being
• Commercialization of Batik
• The Batik Coma
• Batik Brings Sexy Back
• The Batik Battle
5. What is Batik?
• comes from the Javanese word ‘Amba titik’
or ‘Ambatik’
• “a cloth which has been decorated by a
wax resist technique” (Kerlogue, 2004)
• “batik is a resist-dyeing technique used
to decorate finished fabrics” (Lee, 1991)
8. When did it come to be?
• Javanese texts dating back to 12th Century has
drawings of what seem like batik
• 13th Century Chinese records on the quality of batik
• Birth of batik was taken as simultaneous with the use
of canting, dating back to late 13th Century Majapahit
• Earliest known written colonial reference to batik in
1642, in a Dutch bill of lading regarding a shipment
from Batavia to Bengkulu
9. It came from India?
• Batik must have came from India during the 6th or 7th century
because:
“Batik has custodians and producers of the
finest tradition heritage in the world”
- G. P. Rouffaer, Dutch merchant with
an interest in Javanese ‘antiquities’
• Indian textileknown as Serasah or Sembagi, one-sided design,
the chintz technique with mordants.
• Fine Cotton was brought by the Indian traders and Chinese
traders in the 9th Century.
10. “By-product of ‘Indonesian’ Culture”
• Use of candles was a common practice especially in
areas where there was no common external influence
• The ‘canting’ is indigenous to the archipelago
11. What you’ll need
• the wax & canting, later developed into the tie-dye, the cap and the
colet technique
• cotton, either imported from India & China or from inland Java
• dyes
• red, yellow brown is indigenous to the archipelago and India
• indigo and blue dye came in the form of dried cakes from the
Song dynasty
• green, yellow, baby pink and other colors are chemical dyes
which came from German much much later
12. Batik’s Evolution
• making batik required a servility & items from all over the world
• it started out as a clothing for the ruling class; batik kraton
• around 4,000 workers at the Mataram court producing batik for
the royal family (van Goens, 1656)
• development of the bunga larangan (i.e the Parang rusak)
• makers of batik also made a batik for themselves, the batik
petani
• Batik with calligraphy was then used for rituals and the more warak
13. Batik’s Evolution
• The traders then wanted such a
cloth and made batik dagang
• through trade batik was given
much publicity
• batik cina
• batik belanda
• batik Hokokai
14. By-product of a Globalized Culture?
“The foreigners who came to the Indonesian
archipelago brought with them cultural
influences from China, India, Persia,
Egypt and the Near East, from the vast
expanse of the pacific, and possibly even from
South and Central America. Since
textiles were an integral part of
these influences, a stimulating cross-
fertilization of techniques and ideas
would have occured.”
-Bedrich Forman, 1988
17. Commercialization of batik
• Manufacturers of batik
• no longer about producing
them for clothing needs
• relied on local, experienced
‘batiksters’ (Veldhuisen, 1993)
• trapped them into debt via
advances
18. Commercialization of batik
• motifs no longer mystical or had magical powers
• batik-making no longer a ritual
• use of chemical dyes
• drawn no longer according to adat but customer’s
tastes
• batik Red Riding Hood by Mrs Metzelaar in 1900s
• Batik in the form of
D.I.Y Handicraft Packets
19. Commercialization of batik
• Chinese or Indo-Chinese
• Dutch or Indo-European
• cotton produced in Belgium;
weaving factories set up in
Twente (Holland)
• affected by the American Civil War
• shortage of supply of cotton
• increased price
• many batik enterprises went bankrupt
21. The Gradual Decline
• Word War I: decline of cotton import from Netherlands;
increase batik prices
• World Economic Crises in 1923 killed the industry
• Imitation and D.I.Y. batik
• Succession problems of batik merchants & producers
• batik no longer prestigious or belonging to the Malays
• changing fashion trends (westernization), batik wear as
uncouth
22. The Gradual Decline
“Capitalism is intrinsically global [...] ,
incorporating and discarding different parts
of the globe at different times in accord
with its own shifting interests”
- Chua Beng Huat (2000)
23. The Gradual Decline
• Commercialisation of batik & specialisation in the batik-making
process impedes the mastery of batik-making
• Succession problems of batik merchants & producers
• Batik ‘instructors’ such as Piet Ducro and the Boeatan
Foundation leads to the decline of the traditional batik-making
role by the locals
• this failed and they discontinued
24. The Gradual Decline
• batik no longer serves a function to the Malays
• mass-produced batik; no longer a marker of the higher classes
• changing fashion trends (westernization), batik as uncouth
• Islamic Revivalism in the Malay Archipelago in 1970s
• decline in rituals requiring batik and the rituals involving
batik-making
• Arabisation as a response to the ‘budaya kuning’ from the
West
25. The Gradual Decline
“When a tradition loses
its relevance
it will die a natural death”
-Dr Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman, Malay Studies Department, NUS
27. Revival of Silk Batik
• 1960s
• Reintroduce batik as a status symbol
• Batik as the ‘in’ thing; increased conspicuous
consumption & wearing of batik
• revival of batik ‘tulis’
• ideas of authenticity
• marker of Malayness; consumption seen as
patronization of culture
28. Revival of Batik
• Used in soft furnishings
• Development of fine arts
• tourist souvenir
• Malay ‘bohemian’ sub-culture among youths
• ‘Batik’ culture in Indonesian sinetrons
29. Revival of Batik
“Cultural elements, through
the popularization of its
form, loses its substance.”
-Dr Syed Muhammad Khairudin Aljunied,
Malay Studies Department, NUS.
32. Revival of Batik
“Malay identity work [...] is surely not a neutral activity, but
rather a form of resistance to certain forms of
domination”
-Derks, 1997
• as part of an identikit
• reconstruction of ethnicity & symbols
• revivalism of the colonised peoples’ identity, as
separate or ‘free’ from imperialists’ cultures
• politicization of ‘Batik’ as a cultural symbol and
heritage
34. Batik as a Symbol of Nationalism
• Occurs when nationalism is based on ethnic
identity; Bangsa Indonesia VS Bangsa Melayu
• Globalization has resorted in an increasingly blurred
boundaries
• triggered a need to protect the sanctity of one’s
culture and tradition, of one’s identity
35. Batik as a Symbol of Nationalism
• “To keep the country together the state needs
Indonesians not members of hundreds of different
ethnic groups”
• UNESCO pronounced batik as Masterpiece of Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, as an
Indonesian heritage
36. Batik as a Symbol of Nationalism
• In 2008, Malaysia made it compulsory for civil
servants to wear batik to work on every Thursday
• Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang pushed as Malaysia’s
Batik centre
37. Batik as a Symbol of Nationalism
• Piala Seri Endon was incepted in 2003 by the late
Datin Sri Endon Mahmood
• Aim: “Malaysian Batik crafted for the world”
38. Batik as a Symbol of Nationalism
• The Singapore Girl
39. References
Chua Beng-Huat (2000). Postcolonial sites, global flows and fashion codes: A case-study of power cheongsams and other clothing
styles in modern Singapore. Postcolonial Studies. 3(3): 279-292
Derks, W. (1997). Malay Identity Work. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde. 153(4): 699-716.
Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan Malaysia (2008). Batik Serantau [Video Recording].
Malaysia: Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan Malaysia.
Kerlogue, Fiona (2004). The Book of Batik. Singapore: Archipelago Press.
Knight-Achjadi, J. & Asmoro Damais (2005). Butterflies and Phoenixes Chinese Inspirations in Indonesian Textile Arts. Indonesia:
Mitra Museum.
Lee Chor Lin (1991). Batik Creating an Identity. Singapore: National Museum of Singapore.
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The Star Online (2008). ‘Cool to wear batik’ says civil servants [Online article]. Available: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?
file=/2008/1/18/nation/20045691&sec=nation. Accessed on October 11, 2010.
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Favorit Press.
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