Dip it deep: A craftsman at the workshop soaks the Bogor Batik into a bucket of dye several times before getting the desired hue.

Batik, with its beautiful colors, motifs and intricate making process, is a symbol of national identity, also reflecting the country’s philosophy and sacred values.

People, however, tend to only be familiar with batik originating from Central and East Java, whereas it can be found much closer to Jakarta in places like Bogor, West Java.

Since 2004, the Bogor administration, together with local batik artisans, has been experimenting with motifs originating from the Sundanese kingdom of Pakuan Pajajaran. Then in January 2008, Bogor started producing its own batik, using kujang kijang motif.

Fauziah Diani Budiarto, the head of the Bogor chapter of the National Handicraft Council, said Pakuan Pajajaran batik had been known since the reign of Rakean Darmasiksa, who ruled the Sundanese kingdom from 1175 to 1297.

An ancient manuscript, Siksa Kanda Ng Karesian, which was translated by Sundanese writer Saleh Danasasmita (1984), says there were many kinds of batik motifs under Rakean Darmasiksa’s rule.

“Unfortunately, those batik motifs disappeared along with the fall of the Pakuan Pajajaran Kingdom [in 1579],” said Fauziah, the wife of Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto.

A few artists revived those patterns over the years, such as R. Alam Wiranatakusumah who reproduced some of those lost patterns in his drawings and paintings in the 1960s and Tien Rostini Asikin, the “mother of the Sundanese culture”, who made batik cloths with five motifs from the Pakuan Pajajaran Kingdom in the 1980s.

Banyak ngantrang was the name given to the first batik motif that  15th century King Baduga Maharaja, popularly known as Prabu Siliwangi, introduced in the sinjang dodot traditional costume he wore at his coronation ceremony.

Banyak ngantrang, a batik only worn by kings, is predominantly purple with motifs of manuk
julang birds and three kinds of flowers — wijaya kusuma, loa, and kacapiring.

The golden brownish manuk julang bird can only be found in West Java’s Ujung Kulon and Sancang
forest, while the pink, red and white wijaya kusuma represents the flower of a queen. The kacapiring plant was used to decorate the Pajajaran palace.

Batik from Bogor is unique, just like batik from other places, as it is inspired by history, local culture and social or economic life.

Rukoyah Siswaya, the owner of Batik Tradisiku, launched the kujang kijang batik in 2008, featuring Bogor’s two icons — the local traditional weapon (kujang) and deer (kijang) horns.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto announced he would soon ask all students and employees in Bogor to wear Bogor batik.

However, awareness of the local batik remains low.

“I didn’t know Bogor had its own batik,” said Martina May Liga, a kindergarten teacher in Bogor. This didn’t stop her from thinking the local administration’s idea to promote the batik was a great one.

“I am thankful we can still wear batik, which is part of our heritage. It would be good if all parts of Indonesia had their own batik as a way to preserve the culture of our ancestors,” she said.

— Photos by Theresia Sufa

Popular

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes off Java island: authorities

Philippines to endure extreme heat until mid-May

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea