The making of a national icon: Narratives of batik in Indonesia

Abstract

Batik is closely associated with Indonesia, and it has gradually become both an icon of Indonesia and an expression of Indonesian identity. How this came about is investigated in this article by adopting a descriptive approach and involving the idea of a tipping point, which refers to a crucial juncture at which a small change can lead to a significant and irreversible effect. This study focused on specific narratives about batik and Indonesia, formed and sustained in people’s minds, subject to historical change. By identifying important junctures within these narratives, we systematically identified the possible motives, potential effects, feedback loops, enabling circumstances, key actors, and interventions that generated crucial and irreversible changes, i.e. tipping points. Our study revealed that batik’s contemporary place in Indonesian society is the outcome of a process that began in the late 19^th century, but with roots dating to events much further back in time, which in retrospect turned out to be crucial tipping points. Identifying tipping points and exploring processes both towards and following them proved an effective way to understand the long and complex story of Indonesian batik’s journey to becoming a national symbol. Small changes indeed can have a big impact.

Keywords:

• batik
• narrative
• identity
• Indonesia
• tipping points

Acknowledgments

The research is funded by Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) or the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education, the Ministry of Finance, Indonesia (grant number: 201801220212229).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. A Dutch bill of lading of 1641 mentioned “batick” to describe polychrome textiles shipped on a sailing vessel from Batavia to Bengkulen on Sumatra’s west coast.

2. In Javanese mythology, Ratu Adil or Just Savior or Just King is the traditional Messiah who it was foretold would bring justice and prosperity to his people (see Dahm, 1969, p. 16).

3. Although the KORPRI’s uniform is categorised as a textile with a batik motif—not a fine batik—given its method of production, people still refer to the uniform as batik KORPRI.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan [201801220212229].

Notes on contributors

Rina Febriani

Rina Febriani is a Ph.D. candidate at Institute for Science in Society (ISiS), Radboud University Nijmegen. She is also a junior researcher at Centre for Environment and Sustainability Science of Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia. Her research interest includes environmental, cultural, and social issues.

Luuk Knippenberg

Luuk Knippenberg is a senior researcher/lecturer at Institute for Science in Society (ISiS), Radboud University Nijmegen. His interest is focused on ethics, social and institutional aspects of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, social and cultural anthropology. E-mail address: [email protected]

Noelle Aarts

Noelle Aarts is professor of Socio-Ecological interaction at Institute for Science in Society (ISiS) at Radboud University Nijmegen, of which she is also the director. Her field of expertise include conversations between people in different contexts. She studies inter-human processes and communication for creating space for change, both in governmental organisations, in NGOs, and in commercial companies. E-mail address: [email protected].