BATIK GLOSSARY

Batik: a technique of decorating a piece of cloth through repeated process of drawing patterns with a dye-resiting agent, such as wax, coloring and wax removal with boiling water. In 2009, Indonesian Batik was confered into the List of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO for, as transcribed from the official website, for “the techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik. Clothes with everyday designs are worn regularly in business and academic settings, while special varieties are incorporated into celebrations of marriage and pregnancy and into puppet theatre and other art forms. The garments even play the central role in certain rituals, such as the ceremonial casting of royal batik into a volcano. Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colours are desired. The wide diversity of patterns reflects a variety of influences, ranging from Arabic calligraphy, European bouquets and Chinese phoenixes to Japanese cherry blossoms and Indian or Persian peacocks. Often handed down within families for generations, the craft of batik is intertwined with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people and, through the symbolic meanings of its colours and designs, expresses their creativity and spirituality.”

Based on Konsensus 1966, batik is Indonesian textile in which the motif is created using dye-resist method using wax as the resist agent which is applied using a canting or tjap.

Batik Pedalaman: literally translated as ‘inland batik’, refers to the batik from the Java mainland, mostly from the royal ground in Yogyakarta and Solo. The main features of this batik are the abstract motif with philosophical meaning and brown, black/ dark blue and white as primary colors.

Batik Pesisir: literally translated as ‘coastal batik’, refers to the batik from the coastal towns at the north of Java island, such as Cirebon, Pekalongan and Lasem. The motif and usage of batik is influenced by the traders from China and India. They are also more vibrant and colourful.

Bironi (or mbironi): to give the blue background on a traditional batik, using a natural dye such as indigo.

Buketan: a European-inspired batik pesisir motif featuring a textile having two or three panels of repeated patterns of a bouquet of flowers, birds and butterflies. Motifs are usually coloured using the brushing (colet) method and followed by dipping (celup) to obtain a pastel-colored background.

Camplungan: the reservoir-like part of canting to contain the hot molten wax prior to being drawn on to the cloth.

Canting: a handheld tool made to contain hot wax to trace patterns and motifs onto the cloth. The tool consist of a copper well attached with copper spouts, of various sizes for different applications, with a wooden or bamboo handle.

Cap (or tjap): a stamp made from copper to transfer wax design to the cloth.

Carat (or cucuk): The tip, or spout, of a canting, in which the wax flows out from the camplungan to transfer on to the cloth.

Ceplok (or rapot motif): the template motif, a unit motif which can be tesselated horizontally, vertically and diagonally to form a whole batik pattern.

Colet: also referred to as ‘coletan’. A technique of applying colours using a brush.

Isen (or isen-isen): the filler motifs

Jelamprang: a ‘nitik’ (dotted) motif, characteristics of Batik from Pekalongan, adapted from geometric patterns typical in Indian woven cloth.

Jumputan: tie-and-dye. Also a motif obtained by covering or tieing parts that are to remain undyed with yarn or ribbon with dye-resisting material.

Kain Panjang: A full-length batik cloth, typically of the length 2.3 metres by 1.1. meters. These are commonly used as a base for ladies or full gentlemen’s long-sleeved shirts.

Kawung: a crossed geometric motif, one of the forbidden motifs.

Klowongan: The outer side of the motif or part of a tjap that forms the motif.

Larangan (or batik larangan): translated to ‘forbidden’. Referring to the forbidden motif that was exclusively produced for and worn by the royal families and courtesants, mostly in the Yogyakarta and Solo area.

Lorod (or nglorod): wax removal/dissolution process by boiling the cloth in hot water.

Malam: the wax dye-resist material, maybe a single form or a mixture of synthetic or natural waxy materials, including beeswax, paraffin, among others.

Medel: to fix the colors on batik using mordanting agents, such as gambir, tunjung, and white lime paste (kapur sirih).

Mopok: to cover the coloured part of the motif using wax to protect the colour during the subsequent dyeing process.

Mori: mechanically woven white cloth used as a basic material for batik.

Nembok: to cover the background using malam tembokan (wax used to protect a large area of cloth which is more sturdy and less crackling) or malam remukan (wax used to be hammered with a mallet to give a crack effect).

Nerusi: to add wax at the back of the cloth to completely cover the cloth, to prevent dye from entering the cloth from the back during dyeing process.

Ngerok: to remove the wax from the cloth surface by scrapping using metal or bamboo slats.

Parang: a diagonal running double twining motif, one of the forbidden motifs.

Pedalaman: translated to ‘inland’. See ‘Batik Pedalaman’ for details.

Pesisir: translated to ‘coastal’. See ‘Batik Pesisir’ for details.