Batik - An Identity of Indonesia


Batik - An Identity of Indonesia, Batik - An Identity of Indonesia, Introduction of Kebaya As The Best Traditional Costume of Indonesian FemalesKebaya is a habitual blouse-dress combination for Indonesian females. The kebaya is also recognized in some Asian countries like Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Cambodia. It can be made from sheer material and worn with a sarong or batik kain panjang, or other traditional woven garment such as ikat, songket with a colorful motif.

During the nineteenth century, and prior to the Nationalist movement of the early 20th century, the model of kebaya had enjoyed a period of being worn by Indonesian, Eurasian, and European women alike, with trivial style variations. In this time distinguishing class and category was important and produced variants of the basic set of clothes. Now we may appreciate the modern kebaya ( or in Indonesia called as model kebaya modern) that may be made of silk, velvet and brocade.

There are two main kinds of the Indonesian traditional clothing. The first one is known as baju kebaya and the second one is baju kurung. The baju kebaya may have two highest forms: the semi-transparent straighter cut blouse of the Java or Bali and the more tightly tailored Sunda kebaya. The baju kurung is a loose-fitting, knee-length long-sleeved blouse worn in the additional adherent Muslim areas- including former Kingdom of Johor-Riau (now Malaysia), Sumatra and parts of coastal Java.

The blouse is generally semi-transparent and worn over the torso wrap. It is a uniform which is considered as a must. This is a way to show how proud they are to be Indonesia citizens.

The handmade ones do need long time of painting, but the printed ones need shorter time.

Years ago, batik was only worn in formal occasions. At that time, Indonesian tend to choose batik instead of tuxedo or other formal outfits. But today, batik is even worn by students and employees as their uniform in certain days, such as every Friday.

In some families, Batik is even considered as a tradition. It makes them have their own motifs which are different from other families. It is like their identity, since the motifs can even show their economical status. Indonesian Batik has been claimed as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity for all the techniques, technology, motif development, and the cultural values needed to make a piece of it. It is because the process includes two factors: coloring techniques and the choice of the motifs. This step is not easy since every motif should have a characteristic.

Indonesian believe that the existence of Batik started in Majapahit era, and increasingly popular in the end of 18th century or he beginning of 19th century. Batik was actually purely handmade, but later on, as the technology has developed, it is mostly printed. What supports this change the most is the amount of orders. The handmade ones do need long time of painting, but the printed ones need shorter time.

Years ago, batik was only worn in formal occasions. At that time, Indonesian tend to choose batik instead of tuxedo or other formal outfits. But today, batik is even worn by students and employees as their uniform in certain days, such as every Friday.

In some families, Batik is even considered as a tradition. It makes them have their own motifs which are different from other families.