From east to west: Sidoarjo batik, from East Java, as shown in this stall, also “has unique potential”, according to East Java Governor Soekarwo. JP/Indra Haraputra
Those who have for years been selflessly devoting time to the promotion and preservation of batik were vocal in their support of the proposal and those behind it.
As Adiati Arifin Siregar, chairwoman of the Himpunan Wastraprema, an association of Indonesian traditional textile enthusiasts founded in 1976, said, “Thumbs up for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce [Kadin] and other related parties for their hard work in providing proof to safeguard batik as our heritage.”
It was, by all accounts, hard work indeed. The “proof” was a compilation of all those features that make batik so important to the cultural life of Indonesians.
Initiated by Iman Sucipto Umar from the Kadin Foundation and completed with the help of several batik observers, it took 18 months to compile all the information needed for the nomination proposal submitted to UNESCO last year.
Some will also say that this kind of information should have been made available for the Indonesian public also — and a long time ago.
And that has always been the problem, with only a dedicated few willing to go the extra mile to compile a complete inventory of the intangible cultural heritage around us. Notably absent from those few is the government.
Adiati A. Siregar: JP/Dian Kuswandini
Indonesia should learn from its previous failures in promoting and developing the art of making the traditional weapon kris, Iman said.
The kris was the second item of Indonesian intangible heritage to be included on the world list, following the inclusion of the leather puppets wayang in 2002.
Despite being on the UNESCO list since 2005, the fact that the kris had relatively little support means it continues to languish in a kind of obscurity. The number of empu or honored kris makers is decreasing by the day and the transmission of the skills required remains limited.
In preserving and promoting aspects of cultural heritage such as the kris or batik, passing the knowledge from one generation to another is key. For this, perhaps Indonesia could learn from how South Korea is supporting the process with its own traditional culture.
“The South Korean government provides monthly subsidies and stipends for the craftsmen as well as their students so that they can live while focusing on such work,” said Seong Yong Park, executive director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Center for Asia and the Pacific.
But before even going that far, there is perhaps still a need for Indonesia to build a solid intangible cultural heritage inventory, one that unfortunately is still lacking. Indeed, it was not until the eruption of several intellectual property rights disputes over our cultural and natural heritage that Indonesia started thinking about setting up a proper inventory of its cultural treasures.
The Cultural Affairs Ministry has started to embrace the Web 2.0 as part of its effort to invite the public to help document the wealth of cultural heritage in the country, the ministry’s research and development center head Harry Waluyo said.
Through a more collaborative effort, the long and hard task of compiling a cultural inventory could be shared — which could make the road toward adding more to the UNESCO list a little smoother. — JP
