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Jakarta Post

Batik patterns hold deep significance

Centuries ago, royal court families in Central Java restricted the use of diagonal batik patterns because the popularity of the fabric had spread and they wanted to maintain its exclusivity

Indah Setiawati (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, July 11, 2008

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Batik patterns hold deep significance

Centuries ago, royal court families in Central Java restricted the use of diagonal batik patterns because the popularity of the fabric had spread and they wanted to maintain its exclusivity.

Common people who dared to wear batik with the restricted patterns faced punishment for dishonoring the royal family.

The restriction on wearing batik with parang patterns, including the famous parang rusak, parang garuda, parang barong, parang kusumo and parang kelitik, has, of course, long since disappeared.

"People can pick any batik pattern now, but please be careful. Don't choose a blouse or skirt with an upside down pattern because people who know batik will laugh at you," Ratih Sanggarwati said.

She said although parang patterns could be used by anyone, they should not be worn by Javanese brides and grooms because, according to superstition, it could bring bad luck to the new couple.

Ratih, who makes Muslim batik attire in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, said the growing trend of women wearing batik was good for the industry, but people needed to understand the basic rules for choosing batik and when and how to wear it.

Batik tulis (traditional hand-drawn batik), she says, has equally sharp colors on the back and the front, while with printed batik cloth, the colors on one side are more vivid than the other.

"When we want to wear batik to go to the office, we can choose chiffon or cotton cloth. Do not wear too many accessories because batik already has intricate motifs," she said.

She says larger women should choose batik with vertical or diagonal motifs that are small, rather than horizontal and large motifs.

"If you have dark skin, batik plesiran, or batik from Pekalongan, which has colorful motifs, will suit you. If you wear a pale color, you have to make sure to do your makeup and hair nice," she said.

Ratih predicted the current batik trend would last for two years at the most, with declining interest next year. But she said people would always wear batik because it had become the national attire.

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