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Batik, kris and wayang get UNESCO world heritage status
UNESCO on Friday awarded Indonesia four certificates, three stating that it recognized three intangible cultural heritages and one stating its recognition of the country's efforts to preserve its culture
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NESCO on Friday awarded Indonesia four certificates, three stating that it recognized three intangible cultural heritages and one stating its recognition of the country's efforts to preserve its culture.
The three intangible cultural heritages were batik, a method of decorating fabric with a special dyeing techniques producing specific patterns, wayang, a traditional shadow puppet play, and kris, a traditional ceremonial dagger.
The certificates were symbolically handed by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, to Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik and Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono.
After the awards were given, Agung said, the country should preserve the heritage to prevent the recognition from being withdrawn.
"Batik can be preserved by always wearing it. What will be hard is preserving wayang and kris," he said.
Agung added he had issued a letter requesting that offices and hotels display the three objects.
Tresna Dermawan Kunaefi, Indonesia's Ambassador to UNESCO, said the recognition as intangible cultural heritage was not based on the objects' physical aspects, but the stories and ideas behind them.
"Batik is clearly a part of our lives. There is a human side to it. For example, you cannot wear funeral batik to a wedding," he said.
The audience at the event, almost all in batik, were also told that the cultural value of wayang was in the stories played out by the puppets, while kris' value was in the process of making the weapon.
Tresna said that in the future, Indonesia should prove that the bamboo musical instrument angklung and the elaborate, quick-paced saman dance from Aceh - the next candidates for UNESCO's list, play similarly important roles in Indonesian culture.
Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, who also attended the event, said batik played a significant part in the country's industry.
"Assuming that 7.9 percent of the gross domestic income is from the creative industry and 10 percent of that is the batik industry, then 0.8 percent of the gross domestic income is batik-based," she said.
