Jabar and Batik
“My Indonesia is West Java”
Every story begins with an encounter. In my case it was Indonesia. But which Indonesia ? Of course, there is the bewitching Bali and its gentle Hindu lifestyle. Even if this charm - with the smell of incense, warm colors, rituals that punctuate daily life - is often undermined by mass tourism without elegance around Denpasar ...
But this is another story. My Indonesia, rather Indonesia of the one who shares my life, is that of West Java, less known by tour guides unless we decide to take lazy trains from Jakarta to go to Yogyakarta and Borobudur.
"Friday is Batik Day in Indonesia"
If you do this path, you will pass by Bandung, a large city teeming with life and you will pass through corners of little-known countryside. There too are the rice terraces, the mysterious caves, the hidden waterfalls, the still furious volcanoes. There too are the Batiks. Your first personal experience of Batik may be in Bali, where the sarong sellers will sell you fabrics to be able to enter the temples, the litany "Sarong ! Sarong !" Will no doubt remain etched in your mind.
She could be at a moon party in Ubud on a Friday when arriving in Jakarta. Friday is indeed the day of Batik in Indonesia, in order to honor what has become an intangible heritage of humanity. Batik is multiple. Multiple in its colors, its patterns.
Whether you are in Central Java, West Java, Jakarta, Bali, the patterns will change according to cultural influences. From Chinese influence in northwest Java, Royal in Yogyakarta, ritual in Bali, batik defines where you are and who you are. Batik is multiple in its making too. It can be traced, stamped, printed, it remains the translation of a culture.
The Dutch fell in love with Batik, popularizing it in a form less loaded with symbols, and let's say it, of lower quality because it is massively produced. So, let yourself be tempted and base yourself for real Indonesian Batiks, shimmering, colorful, warm, at www.jabar-lyon.com