History of Banten Batik
Banten batik is one of the batik originating from Banten province, very rich in philosophy that contains historical stories in each batik motif taken from toponyms, which is a scientific language about it’s origin, place name, use, meaning, and typology. 12 Banten batik motifs were patented in 2003 to show the originality of a nations work or heritage and it should also be noted that Banten batik is the first batik to get a patent from UNESCO.
Banten residents already have a tradition of batik starting in the 17th century, which at that time was commonly referred to as batik blankets or simbut. When thr heyday of the Banten kingdom began to end, the batik tradition began to fade and began to be developed again in 2002 through research by archaeologists to create a variety of batik motifs that showed the identity of Banten until more than 75 batik motifs were found and 12 of them had been patented.
The uniqueness of Banten Batik
Banten Batik itself has a color pattern that tends to be cheerful by utilizing a combination of pastel colors that have a soft impression. This is to represent the expressive character of the Banten people with a soft heart. The pastel color caused by batik is actually due to the assimilation of the Chinese culture of the fortress. As for the baduy batik motif itself, it is difficult to change its color which only consists of blue and black colors. While the most famous Banten batik motifs are the debus nail batik motif and the surosowan motif.
Banten Batik has a distinctive feature in the ornamental patterns of classical pottery and classic local ceramics from the relics of the Kingdom of Banten. Banten batik motifs tell a lot about the history of Banten and also contain philosophies taken from the names of buildings, places, and titles, as well as the name of the space from the Banten royal site. Batik motifs that take place names are Pancaniti, Pamaranggen, Pasepen, Singayaksa, Pajantren, Pasulaman, Srimanganti, Datulaya, and Surosowan. If this Banten batik is combined with modern women’s batik clothes models, it will be very present and must be favored by young people. The following are 12 batik motifs that have received patents from UNESCO:
- sabakingking batik motif
- mandalikan batik motif
- srimanganti batik motif
- pasepen batik motif
- stud batik motif
- pasulaman batik motif
- kapurban batik motif
- kawangsan batik motif
- pamaranggen batik motif
- surosowan batik motif
- pancaniti batik motif
- batik motif datu laya
Batik motifs have an archetype on a variety of decorations derived from historical objects, namely the Terwengkal Artifact which is the result of the excavation of archaeologists in 1976 in the Banten area.
Whatever the color, Banten batik tends to be soft gray which shows that the character of Banten people, in general, has traits including his ideas, ideals, will, and mental attitude tend to be high but always simple and calm bearing, according to the color of the batik.
The philosophy of the batik motif name is always related to the history of Banten where the name of the batik motif comes from “Toponyms of ancient villages, spatial nomenclature in the Kingdom of Banten and the name of the title of nobility/sultan”
Bibliography of Banten Batik
- Encep, T., 2013, Mengapa Batik Banten Berbeda?,online: http://goo.gl/Hs18pb, Kompasiana, accessed at 11 Agustus 2015.
- Anonim, “Batik banten”, online:https://goo.gl/kUntwH, Wikipedia, accessed at 11 Agustus 2015
