In Bogor, a quest to develop a unique batik motif

Residents of Bogor say they want to create a signature batik motif to capture the culture and tradition of the West Java city.

Musician Abah Dasep Arifin said that the local cultural community had identified 17 plants or heritage items unique to the city that might be used as motif for distinctly Bogorian batik.

“It is an effective way to familiarize people with Bogor through batik. But the motifs should be recognizable as an image of Bogor”, Abah Dasep, an angklung musician and instructor, said.

“We will submit the sketches of the 17 plants and heirlooms to batik artists for them to create new motifs. We will soon hold a competition for the motif designs,” Abah said at a recent gathering of batik artists and entrepreneurs at the Bogor Tradisiku Batik Gallery.

Some of the proposed motifs depicted a kujang caringin — a warrior’s dagger — and a harendong plant, said Abah Dasep.

“We hope a wide selection of motifs will help the batik artists pick a motif that is fit for adults, teenagers and even children,” he added.

Siswaya, the owner of Bogor Tradisiku Batik Gallery, said that suggestions would help batik makers
to develop a unique batik motif for the city.

“We’ve been developing Bogor batik since 2004 by ourselves, but it’s time to get serious by immortalizing our cultural heritage with a modern batik motif.”

Siswaya’s wife, Rukoyah Siswaya, a batik artist, said that she received an order from the Bogor Handicraft Council to develop and produce batik items with a unique motif.

In the course of research, Rukoyah learned that Bogor first developed its own batik style during the Pakuan Pajajaran kingdom in the 15th century.

She said that the artist R. Alam Wiranatakusumah made sketches and paintings of the kingdom’s batik motifs in 1965 that were used by Bogor-born Sundanese artist Tien Rostini Asikin to replicate five sample motifs in 1986.

The motifs include a ragen penganten, a pasi-pasi, a kembang muncang (candleberry flower), a Jayanti and a banyak ngantrang.

According to Rukoyah, the oldest motif, the banyak ngantrang, was introduced by one of the kingdom’s rulers, Prabu Siliwangi, during his coronation.

Banyak ngantrang batik is now known as royal clothing. The pattern, — typically colored purple, the color of the kingdom — is rich with ornamental birds and flowers.

“We mass produce batik. However, banyak ngantrang batik could only be worn by royals, given how difficult it was to make,” Rukoyah said.

Bogor Tradisiku Gallery also produces its own motifs inspired by local tourist sites and other things for which Bogor is famous.

For example, Rukoyah said, they made batik in motifs of titan arum and Rafflesia – both rare plants in the Bogor Botanic Garden; a “drizzle” motif in honor of Bogor’s reputation as the “Rainy City”; a motif featuring the leaves of the locally grown taro plant; and the kujang-kijang motif, honoring both the local version of the keris (dagger) and the deer (kijang) living on the grounds of the Bogor Presidential Palace.

“The administration is very serious about the development of Bogor batik. They helped us to get our motifs patented on May 4, 2009. The administration also backed the promotion and marketing of the batik nationwide,” Rukoyah said.