Getting to Know a bit of The History of Batik in Indonesia

 

 

Indonesian batik is full of symbols and culture that are closely related to the life of the Indonesian people. So that batik can not be claimed by other countries. Indonesian batik is widely known in the world. Not only famous by the Javanese, batik itself has spread to all islands in Indonesia. Clothing with batik motifs is no longer only worn by Indonesians but also by people from other countries. Currently batik cloth has been considered a formal dress that is suitable to be worn in any event.

Then what about the journey or history of batik itself ? The history of batik in Indonesia is closely related to the development of the kingdoms in Indonesia, namely the Majapahit Kingdom and the spread of Islam on the island of Java. The development of batik was mostly carried out during the Mataram Kingdom, then during the Solo Kingdom and Yogyakarta Kingdom.

So batik in Indonesia has been known since the time of the Majapahit Kingdom and continues to grow to the next kingdom and kings. As for the spread of the art of batik, it became the property of the Indonesian people and especially the Javanese after the end of the XVIII century or the beginning of the XIX century. The batik produced was all written batik until the early twentieth century and stamped batik was only known after the end of the first world war or around 1920. As for the connection with the spread of Islamic teachings. Many batik centers in Java were santri areas and then Batik became a tool of economic struggle by Muslim traders against Dutch traders.

Meanwhile, batik or batik art is the art of drawing on cloth for clothing which became one of the cultures of the royal families in ancient Indonesia. At first batik was limited to the palace only and the result was for the clothes of the king and his family and followers. Because many of the king's followers lived outside the palace, this batik art was taken by them outside the palace and carried out in their respective places where they lived.

Over time, this batik art was imitated by the closest people who lived close to the king's followers and later expanded into the work of women in their household to fill their spare time. So that batik which was previously only the clothes worn by the royal family, later became the clothes favored by the people, both women and men.

The material for making batik itself is white cloth that comes from the woven itself. While the dyes used are derived from native plants that grow in Indonesia which are made by the batik makers themselves. The plants include noni, tall, soga, indigo, and the ingredients for soda are made from soda ash, and the salt is made from mud.

Batik, which is a culture originating from the Majahit kingdom, can be traced in the Mojokerto and Tulung Agung areas. Batik areas now in Mojokerto are in Kwali, Mojosari, Betero and Sidomulyo. Outside the Mojokerto Regency area is in Jombang.

Although batik has been known since the Majapahait era, the development of batik began to spread rapidly in the areas of Central Java, Surakarta and Yogyakata, during the kingdom era in this area. This can be seen from the batik patterns in Mojokerto and Tulung Agung which are more influenced by the batik patterns of Solo and Yogyakarta.

Another history of batik in East Java is in Ponorogo which relates to the spread of Islamic teachings in this area. The art of batik in the Ponorogo area is closely related to the development of Islam and the ancient kingdoms. In the Batoro Katong area, there is a descendant of the Majapahit kingdom whose name is Raden Katong, the younger brother of Raden Patah. It was Batoro Katong who brought Islam to Ponorogo and the existing petilasan is a mosque in the Patihan Wetan area.

Subsequent developments, in Ponorogo in the Tegalsari area there is a boarding school that is cared for by Kyai Hasan Basri or known as Kyai Agung Tegalsari. This Tegalsari Islamic Boarding School in addition to teaching Islam also teaches constitutional science, war science and literature. A famous student from Tegalsari in the field of literature is Raden Ronggowarsito. Kyai Hasan Basri was taken as son-in-law by the king of the Solo Palace.

At that time the art of batik was only limited to the palace environment. Because the daughter of the Solo palace became the wife of Kyai Hasan Basri, she was brought to Tegalsari and followed by her retinue. Besides that, many Keaton Solo families study at this pesantren. This event brought batik art out of the palace to Ponorogo. The young people who were educated in Tegalsari, when they leave, will contribute their dharma bhakti in the fields of civil service and religion.

The old batik area that we can see now is the Kauman Area, namely Kepatihan Wetan now and from here it extends to the villages of Ronowijoyo, Mangunsuman, Kertosari, Setono, Cokromenggalan, Kadipaten, Nologaten, Bangunsari, Banyudono and Ngunut. At that time the drugs used in batik were made in the country itself from wood, including; tom tree, noni, tall wood. While the white cloth material also uses homemade from woven carrying.

The making of stamped batik in Ponorogo was only known after the first world war brought by a Chinese named Kwee Seng from Banyumas. The Ponorogo area in the early 20th century was famous for its batik in indigo which did not fade and that is why batik entrepreneurs from Banyumas and Solo gave many jobs to batik entrepreneurs in Ponorogo. Due to the introduction of stamped batik, the production of Ponorogo after the first world war until the outbreak of the second world war was famous for its rough batik, namely blue mori stamped batik. Ponorogo's rough stamped batik market became famous throughout Indonesia.