Who is the khazanah of Betawi culture turns out so diverse, ranging from culinary to artic heritage and traditions that remain preserved. One of them is Batik Betawi. The peculiarities and uniqueness of Batik Betawi appear in its vibrant colors in accordance with the character of the festive Betawi people.
Motif and Betawi Batik Patterns are not separated from the culture that develops in Betawi and many influenced cultures from China, Arab, India and Holland. The colors are dominated bright colors with little shades, such as bright blue, pink, orange and green. The influence of Chinese culture appears through red colors, light yellow and pink purple. Batik Betawi rarely uses dark colors because it depicts sadness.
Motif Batik Betawi is inspired by the art of Betawi culture affected by Arabic, Indian, Dutch and Chinese culture. Some Betawi Batik examples include Ondel-ondel, Nusa Kelapa, Ciliwung River. However, Batik Betawi continues to produce new motives that tell the place, culture and life of Betawi people. For example is Motif Monas, Motif Penganten Betawi, Motif Si Pitung, Motif Gambang Kromong, and so on.
Batik Betawi has unique meaning and philosophy, e.g. Loreng Ondel-ondel, which lifts the configuration of Ondel-ondel as a doll that can reject the shelves. This motif is created to get the life of the tenteram and far from the disaster shepherd. This motif contains hopes that the wearer gets better life and far from the shepherd.
This Batik Betawi is still very rare, because it is still a few people who preserve the Betawi culture. Indeed there is still a still survivor, but they come from outside Jakarta. Therefore, the importance of socialization and educational for society, especially Jakarta residents to preserve Batik Betawi so that it is not lost in the era of
Photo and Text: Main Pradita
