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Featured Article: Batik

Indonesian batik fabric

Batik 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. The technique is known to be more than one thousand years old, possibly originating in ancient Egypt or Sumeria. Batik is found in several countries in West Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon, and Mali, and in Asia, such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Thailand, and Malaysia, but the art of batik probably reached its greatest development in Indonesia, and some of the finest batik cloth is still made there. To make traditional batik, designs are hand-drawn with hot wax on prepared fabric, using special tools called cantin. Designs follow standardized patterns, some of which have been preserved for centuries. The wax is used to cover the areas which are to be protected from the dye. The cloth is then dyed, and additional areas are covered with wax before it is immersed in a second color of dye. This process is repeated until all of the colors have been added. The making of a fine batik can take as long as six months, and such works are highly prized.