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Glory days of batik Betawi revisited
A newly launched book examines an important yet almost forgotten chapter in the story of Indonesia’s batik traditions.
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Trace of history: Women work at Tee Boen Kee's batik center in Palmerah area, or in a place called in Eng Soen alley (Jl. Palmerah Utara II), in this 1930s photo. (Batik Betawi Koleksi Hartono Sumarsono/kitly.com/File)
T
he motifs of batik Betawi are often associated only with Jakarta’s iconic National Monument (Monas) or ondel-ondel effigies, failing to expose its rich story in the process. Batik collector Hartono Sumarsono believes batik Betawi from Jakarta had rich cultural and sociological significance during its glory days from the 1930s to the 1970s. This significance, unfortunately, might now have been forgotten.
Currently, batik pesisir from the coastal areas of Java or batik Solo (or Surakarta) from Central Java are much more popular among batik lovers.
A book titled Batik Betawi Koleksi Hartono Sumarsono (Batik Betawi from Hartono Sumarsono’s collection) aims to change that.
The book was co-authored with former Intisari monthly magazine chief editor Helen Ishwara as well as the magazine’s two reporters: LR Supriyapto Yahya and Xenia Moeis with photographs from veteran Kompas daily photographer Arbain Rambey.
The book chronicles the glory days of batik Betawi, which was made in Jakarta from the 1930s to 1990 in production centers owned by Chinese-Indonesian merchants located in Karet, South Jakarta, as well as in Palmerah, West Jakarta.
Read also: Exploring 'Peranakan' influence in batik exhibition
The centers produced commercial stampmade batik cap instead of the handmade variety to meet the fast-growing demand coming from not only Java but also Sumatra and Kalimantan.
“Nowadays, most of the parts of Karet that previously served as production centers for batik Betawi have already been turned into residential areas and business centers. I’m afraid that in the next 20 years, the next generation will know nothing about batik Betawi,” Hartono said.
The 63-year-old has been collecting batik since 1983. He runs his own batik store called Kencana Ungu in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. Since 2010, he has also been producing fabric called Batik Citra Lawas.
His personal collection, however, is not for sale.
“In conducting research for this book, we went to some houses in Karet where family members of these batik craftspeople live to find out the origins and story behind each motif and production center,” Hartono’s personal assistant Dance told The Jakarta Post.
He said many stories about the origins of the classic batik Betawi motifs had been circulated and they wanted to cross-check the stories with the family members. Some family members they visited, unfortunately, no longer clearly remembered the classic batik Betawi tradition between the 1930s and 1970s.
The book opens with a socio-historical portrait of Jakarta in the era of Portuguese occupation in the 15th century and continues to the Dutch occupation period before moving forward to the early days of Indonesian independence. This provides readers with the cultural influences that have shaped the capital city. It also discusses the ethnic diversity that has been present in the melting pot of Jakarta since the 17th century, with Chinese, Muslim Indians and Arabs moving from their home countries, not to mention Indonesians from various ethnicities such as the Balinese and Ambonese.
Many scholars believe the Betawi people of Jakarta are actually the result of inter-ethnic marriages among these groups. Chinese merchants, who started to populate the city in the 16th century, played a significant role in setting up these centers. One of them was Lie Tiang Tjeng (1887 to 1961), who came to Jakarta in 1906. Around seven years after settling in Jakarta, he had already built a large batik factory in the Karet area.
“This man is significant because the wealth he accumulated from selling batik turned him into a landlord,” Hartono said.
Read also: Indonesian batik heritage on display in Surakarta batik museum
Another prominent figure was Tee Boen Kee, a batik craftsman in the 1930s who owned a workshop in what is now called the Eng Soen alleyway in Jl. Palmerah Utara, West Jakarta.
Hartono said the batik Betawi of the 1930 to 1970 period had no specific distinguishing characteristics as it was made primarily by imitating motifs and patterns that happened to be in vogue across Java at a given time.
“For instance, in the 1950 to 1960 period, the merak ati motif featuring the gurdo [an eagle-like shape] was very popular, particularly in Tasikmalaya, West Java, so they focused on [producing] that. The same went for the merak ngibing motif that was popular in the same period,” Hartono said.
Chinese-Indonesian craftspeople also played a significant part in batik-making, learning the craft directly from local craftspeople living in Sudirman, South Jakarta and Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta. They constituted a large chunk of the batik production centers’ workforce.
The craftspeople’s personal lives and culture also inspired the motifs of their batik.
“For instance, they make cauliflower motifs; as we know cauliflowers are important ingredient of cap cay [stir-fried vegetables],” Hartono said, referring to a popular Chinese food. Lotuses are also prominently featured in these Chinese batik makers’ work.
Inspiration also came out of the blue for these workers. For instance, they saw a becak (pedicab) passing by and, lo and behold: a becak driver motif was created. They also came up with an elephant motif, which became so popular that it was exported to Singapore.
The glory days of batik Betawi, however, ended in 1990 when the production centers had to relocate to Cikarang, West Java, and other areas due to concerns about industrial waste. Since then, it has increasingly lost the wild popularity that it enjoyed during its heyday.
Batik Betawi: Koleksi Hartono Sumarsono by Hartono Sumarsono, Helen Ishwara, L.R.Surpriyapto Yahya, Xenia Moeis
Published by Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, 2017
243 pages
