Culture minister opens World of Batik Workshop

AMMAN — Culture Minister Haifa Najjar on Wednesday opened the World of Batik Workshop: An Indonesia Batik and Culinary Experience in the residence of the Indonesian ambassador to Jordan.

Batik is a traditional textile from Indonesia. It is an ancient art form, which originated from the island of Java and has been practiced for centuries. 

In her remarks, Najjar welcomed the event, noting that Jordan can learn about Batik as a cultural heritage from Indonesia. She expressed hope that the partnership between Indonesia and Jordan would continue in the years to come, according to an embassy statement. 

“This is part of our vision to learn, because Jordan is a learning country. We are proud to be open to the world,” she said.

In his remarks, Ambassador Ade Padmo Sarwono touched on the cultural similarities between Indonesia and Jordan, as well as their shared vision to support traditional culture and dress. 

The workshop was held by the Indonesian embassy in Amman in collaboration with the Indonesian Women’s Association in Amman and featured Venny Alamsyah, a traditional textile expert from the Batik House Indonesia. 

Batik is made using a wax-resist dye technique and is a very complex process, since the fabric needs to be coloured separately after applying the wax pattern, and then boiling the fabric to remove the wax for as many times as the number of colours wanted to be applied in the fabric.

Batik is a very important part of tradition in Indonesia, and Batik clothing is worn by Indonesians for formal or casual events. Some events even require its participants to wear Batik, the statement said. 

Many Indonesians use Batik in all stages of their lives: From being held in a Batik sling when they are babies, wearing Batik uniforms to school, wearing Batik clothes to attend formal events, and even using Batik in funerals to wrap the body, the statement said. 

Batik has been recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity from Indonesia since October 2, 2009. Since then, Indonesia annually celebrates October 2 as the National Batik Day.

Around 30 participants from the Asian Ambassadors’ Ladies in Amman, members of the Jordanian-Indonesian Friendship Association, the Jordan Handicraft Producers Association, the Jordanian Association of Traditional Handicraft and Folk Arts, as well as other guests participated in the World of Batik Workshop.

During the event, participants learned how to apply hot wax onto the fabric and closely followed the colouring process until the fabric was ready.

On June 6, the embassy also organised the same workshop in the Philadelphia University with participation of students and staff members.