The History of Sasirangan Batik Motifs and Their Explanations — Banjarmasin City is very famous for Sasirangan woven cloth crafts with a handicraft center located in Sasirangan Village. Sasirangan is a batik cloth typical of the Banjar tribe in South Kalimantan. The uniqueness of this sasirangan batik fabric can be seen in the variety of batik motifs that vary. If we look at the meaning of the name sasirangan itself, namely, the word sirang which according to the literature of the local language means sewn or tied by hand and pulled the thread which in other terms is called dijelujur.
Sasirangan batik cloth was formerly a woven cloth that was used as traditional clothing for traditional ceremonial activities that prevailed in the banjar tribe. According to the beliefs of the people, sasirangan batik cloth can be used as a “medicine” for healing people affected by a disaster, namely a disease (pamintaan). In general, sasirangan batik cloth is usually worn on belts for men as well as shawls, headbands (laung), and veils, or also used as udat (kemben) for women.
The era is increasingly advanced and the labor-intensive creative industry is growing rapidly, sasirangan batik fabric today has evolved by adding its variety to a piece of batik tulis cloth with sasirangan motifs which became a model for sasirangan batik clothes as a cultural identity of South Kalimantan during the key period, especially today’s young people. This south Kalimantan sasirangan batik has also developed into a batik cloth for kebaya, curtains, tablecloths, shawls, handkerchiefs, and bed linen, to be better known globally.
Surely we are all wondering, where is the center of the sasirangan batik industry? and the answer is the city of Banjarmasin which is more precisely located on Jalan Seberang Masjid Kelurahan Kampung Melayu where since 2010 it has turned into one of the objects of tourism for cloth crafts and sasirangan batik clothes. The idea of sasirangan village is an idea from the Tourism Office of the Banjarmasin city government in facilitating micro-medium entrepreneurs.
History of Sasirangan Batik Motif
According to the history of literature, it shows that around the 12th to the 14th century during the reign of the Dipa kingdom located in South Kalimantan, it was already known by the people at that time with the name Kain Calapan which later until now is better known as as Kain Batik Sasirangan.
According to the old saga, sasirangan batik cloth was made first by Patih Lambung Mangkurat which began with the story of the semedi or ascetic ritual for approximately 40 days and 40 nights on a raft of balarut banyu. At that time, when towards the end of the semedinya ritual, the raft of patih lambung mangkurat arrived in the overseas area of bagantung city. Then she looked frothy, accompanied by the melodious voice of a woman, namely Princess Junjung Buih who later became the queen of Banua.
However, the princess will only come to the surface if the conditions requested are met, namely one Batung palace that can be completed within a day and cloth that can be completed in a day, on the condition that it is woven and wiped (the dyeing process) with a wadi or padiwaringin motif by forty princesses. Finally until now, it is called sasirangan cloth.
Sasirangan Batik Motifs
The government always strives to protect one of Banjar’s cultural heritage, and currently, it has been recognized by the central government through the Directorate General of Human Rights of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, some sasirangan batik motifs are as follows:
1. Iris Pudak
2. Spinach King
3. Kambang Raja
4. Sinapur Coral Waves
5. Kurikit Skin
6. Bahambur Star
7. Bark
8. Sari Gading
9. Balimbur Dragon
10. Jajumputan
11. Kambang Tampuk Mangosteen
12. Down Dayang
13. Jaruju Leaves
14. Kaombakan kale
15. Kambang Tanjung
16. Tanggiling Scales
The batik cloth motif is very different from Javanese batik in general such as solo batik, pekalongan batik, cirebon batik, Madura batik, and jogja batik.
Sasirangan Batik Clothes Model Picture
