Material gain
The Batik Route in Java, celebrating the art of the beautiful fabric, wraps visitors in the country’s culture, writes Neil Geraghty
Understanding Java through its batik designs
In a sleepy backyard in the artisans’ quarter of Pekalongan in northern Java, a display of alchemy is about to unfold. I’m visiting the atelier of Zahar Widadi, an artisan batik producer and passionate advocate of preserving Java’s batik traditions. Students from all over the world come to participate in his batik workshops at Pekalongan University, but it’s the colour blue that is his real obsession. In his spare time Zahar can often be found foraging for wild indigo, descendents of plants that once grew in vast Dutch-owned plantations during the colonial era.
“Natural indigo produces a depth of colour and luminosity that you just can’t replicate with synthetic dyes,” Zahar explains as he mixes a vat of viscous fermenting indigo with a wooden stick.
His pet kitten comes to peer into the gloopy brown liquid but is distracted by a butterfly and runs off in pursuit.
On a nearby clothes line some recently dyed cloths are drying in the breeze
Zahar takes a length of white cotton cloth that has been stamped with swirling wax patterns, carefully lowers it into the vat and half an hour later returns to lift it out and place it over a drying rack. Within seconds the pigment starts oxidising and streaks of jade green spread over the cloth which gradually morph into a deep blue. The effect is mesmerising and it’s little wonder that indigo was once dubbed the blue gold.
From formal dinners when it is customary to wear batik shirts to weddings where both bride and groom wear intricately patterned sarongs, batik permeates Javanese life. Travellers interested in this ancient art form can follow a Batik Route that meanders through the historic northern ports of Pekalongan, Semarang and Lasem before turning inland to the royal cities of Surakarta and Yogjakarta in Central Java. Each of these cities has a fascinating artisans’ quarter where visitors can step back in time and witness artists at work using centuries old techniques.
In Lasem a bright pink Chinese temple adorned with fearsome looking dragons lies in the heart of “Little China”, an atmospheric district of jasmine scented lanes lined with grand wooden houses built by merchants in the 18th century. The verandas at the back of these houses were often home to small scale batik industries, a few of which are still in operation. At the house of Nyah Kiok, seven women known as the 7 Angels produce some of the finest batiks in Java which are so renowned that the waiting time for delivery after ordering one is several months. I walk to the back of the house where three of the artists are sitting on the veranda carefully drawing bamboo designs onto cloths hanging on frames. To apply the wax they use cantings, bamboo pens with wide nibs that they use to scoop molten wax out of pots placed on paraffin stoves. On a nearby clothes line some recently dyed cloths are drying in the breeze. The colour, a vivid rust red, is made from noni root, a relative of coffee and in the same way that Pekalongan was once famed for its indigo, Lasem is renowned for this red colour known as chicken blood red.
Throughout the centuries traders and settlers from all over Asia and Europe have left their artistic mark on
Java and intricate batik designs with Arabic and Indian influences pop up in surprising places. One of the first things visitors notice when they arrive in Indonesia is the sweet smell of kretek (clove) cigarettes hanging in the air. A kretek and a strong black coffee is a much loved Javanese ritual and somewhere in the mists of time artists began using coffee dregs to paint designs onto the cigarettes.
At the Tapuda factory in Juwana I try my hand at making my own kretek. The production process is done manually and I sit down at a long table where a row of ladies are rolling out cigarettes at lightning speed. I moisten the edge of a cigarette paper, grab a handful of fragrant tobacco, arrange it on the paper and pull a lever to roll out the cigarette. My attempt is surprisingly successful although in truth my cigarette resembles a chipolata and when I show it to the ladies they burst out laughing. Downstairs I hand the kretek to an in house artist who takes a fine brush, dips it into a coffee cup and paints a delicate arabesque pattern onto the paper followed by my name in elegant calligraphy.
From the coast I head inland to Java’s historic heartland where smoking volcanoes rise up above the ruins of ancient temples. One of the most impressive is Prambanan which was built in the 9th century and is one of the largest Hindu temple sites in South East Asia. Set in beautiful tropical parkland the ruins of more than 200 small temples lie around a central complex of six towering temples dedicated to the key Hindu gods. Nearly the whole surface of the temples is covered in sculptures depicting scenes from the Hindu epic The Ramayana. Although Java has been predominantly Muslim for centuries, scenes from The
Ramayana are still used in batik, with Indira in his chariot drawn by flying horses an especially popular motif.
Tourists travelling around Java will be struck by the endearing friendliness of the Javanese who, wherever you go, will stop to chat, practise their English and take a selfie with their arm around your shoulder. At Prambanan, tourists are as much the stars as the temples. At the largest temple I walk up a steep stairway into a dimly lit shrine containing a four armed statue of Shiva. As my eyes get used to the light I notice a whole family staring at me with toothy grins and before I know it Dad grabs me by the shoulder, puts his other arm around one of Shiva’s and I’m lined up for a family photograph.
My final port of call is Surakarta where leafy avenues lined with ornate mansions radiate out from the Royal Palace which is still occupied by the Sultan of Surakarta and his family. Although Indonesia has been a Republic since 1945, members of the royal family still perform ceremonial duties and are considered the custodians of Javanese cultural heritage. The displays of traditional music and dancing at the palace are a highlight of any visit to Surakarta and are performed in a vast open air pavilion in front of the palace. The intoxicating fragrance of ylang ylang fills the evening air as I take a seat in the pavilion. In the corner, court musicians dressed in colourful batik shirts strike the first melodious notes on the gongs and xylophones of a traditional Gamelan orchestra. Two female dancers appear wearing ornate golden crowns and brown batik sarongs, the traditional colour of Surakarta. The tempo of the gamelan slowly increases and with fluttering footsteps the dancers flit across the floor moving their arms and hands in slow graceful movements. This dance, the serimpi, is said to epitomise the courtly virtues of refinement and elegance and as the dancers glide towards the audience, slowly moving their necks from side to side we sit utterly spellbound by their hypnotic performance. ■ For more on Java and Indonesia visit www.indonesia.travel.gb.en Audley Travel organise tailor made trips to Java. A 15 day Classic Java tour including flights from Edinburgh or Glasgow starts from £3,705 pp, www.audleytravel.com