Batik is one of the traditional clothes from
Indonesia. It is made by dipping the cloth which is covered with wax, so the
colors would not be mixed. Batik is famous because it has a lot of different
designs and Batik is usually identical with
Indonesian. Based on my interview, knowledge and the internet source, there are
four reasons why Indonesians are proud of wearing Batik.
The first reason is Batik as a national heritage. Firstly,
Batik was introduced by Ir. Soekarno who was the first Indonesian president but
actually, Batik was used as the traditional clothes in Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta’s
palace usually uses Batik to differentiate between the royal family and the citizens.
This happened a long time ago, so Indonesians claim Batik as their national
heritage. Then on October 1, 2009, UNESCO announced Batik as the Masterpieces
of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This was coming after Malaysia
claimed Batik as their traditional clothes. With this occasion, Indonesians
love Batik more and proud of wearing Batik to show their identity so Malaysian
will be ashamed because of it.
The second reason is Batik becomes the formal clothes in every occasion. Based on my
interview, a lot of respondents said that they didn’t need to worry to choose
their clothes when they wanted to go to the wedding party, had meeting with the
colleagues, attended the funeral or went to the university because by wearing Batik,
they would be considered as polite and neat people.
Most of the students in my class said that wearing Batik is cool even if you
wear it in the class. Therefore, a lot of new Batik designs are invented and
the youngsters can wear Batik without looking old.
The other reason is that
wearing Batik is obligatory. A lot of companies or institutions make Batik
as their uniforms. Their Batik is often
written by the logos from their office so by wearing Batik, they can show their
companies’ or institutions’ identities. Moreover, by wearing those Batiks,
their companies or institutions will be famous and they are proud of it.
The last reason is that a lot of Batik designs are
owned by Indonesia. One of the examples is Batik Buketan, this Batik is a characteristic
from Pekalongan. Batik Buketan is made because of the influence from Europe and,
therefore, the other countries do not have this design. Beside of the designs, Batik
from Indonesia is different from other countries; it has a lot of patterns and
a lot of color combinations.
From the reasons above, I can conclude that
Indonesian people proud of wearing Batik not
only because of its design but also because of its history. As Indonesian
people, we need to preserve Batik by wearing it and show the world that we are
the owner of Batik. Not only by wearing Batik but also we need to be creative
and make a lot of new innovations in Batik design. Moreover, we should love Batik
so that the other countries will not steal Batik from us and we will help Batik
makers build their business bigger.
Sources:
http://www.suaramerdeka.com/index.php/read/kejawen/2012/10/03/608/Esensi-Batik-Warisan-Budaya-yang-Harus-Dijaga