Batik has become one of Indonesian identity and it should be. Now we as Indonesian people has already wear batik almost in every occasion. From formal ceremony or as casual outfits it’s okay to us to wear batik. And this batik fever also have been catch by youth creativity and make batik more flexible and penetrating more deeper. You can find mix of pop culture and Batik for example batik of some world famous football club. Batik is very interesting culture, it is not just cloth, it bears so much hidden meaning of its patterns.

Batik for any occassions

Me my self also like to wear batik, the reason is simply because I don’t need to think about what ceremony that I will attend. Batik is just right. Every institution, every office every schools has their own Batik as their identity. Foreign people also seem attracted to wear batik, even though some of them make mistake when buy batik, like when they wear batik for Indonesian Civil Servants but It’s okay, after all we are all love to wear batik as a world heritage.

I love batik and my love become deeper after I came to Pekalongan, The World City of Batik This is my first trip to Pekalongan. Although I’ve been heard quite lot about this city, this city still surprising me. We can find Batik in every aspect of this city life. This trip also changes my point of view of Batik. Batik is not just a cloth or Culture, more over Batik is a way of life. So many lessons we can take just from a piece of Batik.

Meaning of Batik Patterns

As a child who grew up with Javanese culture I used to find the hidden message in every aspect in live including the cloth that we wear. Just like Javanese people that tend not to talk not straightforward. And like where batik come, batik also have so many meaning behind its patterns.

Batik nowadays has undergone many changes also the philosophy behind it. Long time ago only the King and the family can wear the batik motif like parang barong, the ordinary people or lower social status can only wear parang klithikan motif (let say the lower version of parang barong motif). It’s all make seen consider that time situation of social life is different. Now Indonesia is a large democratic nation, there is no more social class division. But I think Indonesian people need to maintain Batik Culture not only to wear batik cloth but also take the valuable lesson behind it. Here some meaning of batik patterns.

  • Parang Rusak

Means fighting corrupted things such as bad thing. It is like fashion statement. Whoever wear this batik should not being corrupt.

  • Parang Curigo

Means fighting the evil. Evil spirit is not always something that coming from outside. It is also can come from inside.

  • Babon Angkrem

Symbolize the warmth and affection. You can give this batik pattern to your loved one.

Those above only a little lesson that we can take from batik. And now, I’m more proud of wearing batik, not only wear its beautiful color and arts but also implementing its deep meaning of live lesson.

If you come to Pekalongan you can come to Museum Batik to study about Batik