Crafts Of Indonesia

Several Islands are famous for their batik, ikat and songket cloth. Once on the brink of disappearing, batik and later ikat found a new lease of life when former President Soeharto promoted wearing batik shirts on official occasions. In addition to the traditional patterns with their special meanings, used for particular occasions, batik designs have become creative and diverse over the last few years.

This article is about the textile dyeing technique. For other uses see Batik (disambiguation).

Batik (Javanese-Indonesian-Malay pronunciation: [ˈba.teʔ], but often, in English, is [ˈbætɪk] or [bəˈtiːk]) is an Indonesian word and refers to a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. The word originates from Javanese word "amba", meaning ”to write” and the Javanese word for dot or point, "titik."

It is known to be more than a millennium old, probably originating in ancient Egypt or Sumeria. There is evidence that cloth decorated through some form of resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD.^{[citation needed]} It is found in several countries later in West Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Mali, or in Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh , Iran, Thailand, and Malaysia, but the most popular are in Indonesia. The art of Batik reach its highest achievement in technique, intricate design, and refined aesthetic in Java, Indonesia. The island of Java itself is famous and has been well known for its exquisite batik for centuries, particularly in places such as Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon, and Pekalongan.

Batik has been both an art and a craft for centuries. In Java, Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there.

Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles. For example, the artist may use etching, discharge dyeing, stencils, different tools for waxing and dyeing, wax recipes with different resist values and work with silk, cotton, wool, leather, paper or even wood and ceramics.

Batik is historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. The ever widening range of techniques available offers the artist the opportunity to explore a unique process in a flexible and exciting way.

A Kebaya is a traditional blouse worn by Indonesian and Malaysian women, sometimes made from sheer material and usually worn with a sarong, batik, or other traditional knitted garment such as a songket with a colorful motif.

Kebaya is originated from Arab region;^[1] the Arabic word of Kaba means clothing. The name of Kebaya as a particular clothing type was introduced by the Portuguese when they landed on Southeast Asia. Kebaya is associated with a type of blouse worn by Indonesian women in 15th or 16th century. Other believed that Kebaya is originated from China hundreds of years ago, spreading to the Southeast Asia in the 13th to 16th century.^{[citation needed]}

The earliest form of Kebaya was first came from the north of the Indonesian archipelago. The clothing type began to spread to Malacca, Java, Bali, Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi. After hundred years of acculturation, the garments have become adjusted to local customs and culture.

Prior 1600, kebaya on Java island were considered as a sacred clothing to be worn only by members of the Javanese monarchy. During Dutch colonization of the island, European women began wearing kebaya as formal dress. During this period, kebaya, that was originally made from mori fabric, were modified with silk embroidered with colorful patterns.

In Malacca region, a different variety of kebaya is called "nyonya kebaya" wore by the Peranakan people. Nyonya kebaya dress consists of a kebaya completed with a sarong and beaded shoes (kasut manek). The nyonya kebaya gains its popularity that the dress is wore also by non-Asian people.

Apart from traditional kebaya, fashion designers are looking into ways of modifying the design and making kebaya a more fashionable outfit. Casual designed kebaya can even be worn with jeans or skirts. For weddings or formal events, many designers are exploring other types of fine fabrics like laces to create a bridal kebaya.

The kebaya silhoutte gives emphasis to a womanly figure and that is the beauty of this ethnic wear.

This article is about an item of clothing. For Intel's PECI, see Platform Environment Control Interface.

A peci is a cap of Indonesian Muslim origin, in the shape of a truncated cone, similar to fez but almost always made of black felt.

In Indonesia the peci has become its national headdress, with secular nationalist connotations, made popular by Sukarno. Peci is worn by male Indonesians in formal situation, wedding ceremonies, or religious holidays such as Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adh.

Peci is also worn in Malaysia, notably by the military and police of Malaysia and Brunei on ceremonial occasions.

A sarong' or sex me'sarung (pronunciation: [ˈsa.ɾoŋ] in Malay and Indonesian, though usually [səˈɹɒŋ] in English) is a large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a skirt by men and women throughout much of south Asia and southeast Asia, parts of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric is often brightly coloured or printed with intricate patterns, often depicting animals or plants, checkered or geometric patterns, or resembling the results of tie dying. Sarongs are also used as wall hangings and other forms of clothing, such as shawls, baby carriers, complete dresses or upper body clothing.

The dyeing technique of batik is associated with sarong production.

In strict usage, sarong [Malay, "sheath"] denotes the lower garment worn by the Malay people, both men and women. This consists of length of fabric about a yard wide and two-and-a-half yards long. In the center of this sheet, across the narrower width, a panel of contrasting color or pattern about one foot wide is woven or dyed into the fabric, which is known as the kepala or "head" of the sarong. This sheet is stitched at the narrower edges to form a tube. One steps into this tube, brings the upper edge above the level of the navel (the hem should be level with the ankles), positions the kepala at the center of the back, and folds in the excess fabric from both sides to the front center, where they overlap and secures the sarong by rolling the upper hem down over itself. Malay men wear sarongs woven in a check pattern; women wear sarongs dyed in the batik method, with, for example, flower motifs, and in brighter colors. The sarong is common wear for women, in formal settings with a kebaya blouse. Malay men wear sarongs in public only when attending Friday prayers at the mosque, but sarongs remain very common casual wear at home for men and women of all races and religions in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Songket is fabric which belongs to the brocade family of textiles. It is hand woven in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads. The metallic threads stand out on the background cloth to create a shimmering effect. In the weaving process the metallic threads are inserted in between the silk or cotton weft (latitudinal) threads of the main background cloth. The term 'songket' comes from the Malay word menyongket, ‘to embroider with gold or silver threads’. Songket is traditionally worn during ceremonial occasions.

In Indonesia, Songket is produced in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Bali, Sulawesi, Lombok and Sumbawa. Outside of Indonesia production areas include the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and Brunei.^[1]

Songket weaving is historically associated with areas of Malay settlement, and the production techniques could have been introduced by Arab and Indian merchants. Historically, production was located in politically significant kingdoms because of the high cost of materials; the gold thread used was originally made of real gold.