National Batik Day, Protecting Indonesia’s cultural arts heritage

Helloindonesia.id – Reported by Tirto.id, the word ‘Batik‘ in language, comes from the combination of two kinds of words, namely the word ‘Amba’ and the word ‘Tik’. ‘Amba’ means broad or wide; which means broad, namely cloth as the material used, while ‘Tik’ means point. So, in combination it is usually called bati

In an encyclopedia, the word batik has also been written down. Kumparan.com reports that the word batik was registered in the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1880 for the first time with the spelling ‘Battik’.

In traces of its history, in several areas in the archipelago almost entirely touched by the craft of batik. One of the territories, including Indonesia today. The motifs written or printed on cloth are quite diverse, representing the uniqueness and philosophy of the region.

During the reign of President Soeharto, batik became a souvenir that President Soeharto often gave to his state guests from various countries. This is one of the beginnings of the introduction of batik to an international audience.

In the 4th session of the Inter-Governmental Committee held in Abu Dhabi on October 2, 2009, the United Nations of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared batik as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

After that, every October 2 is celebrated as National Batik Day. It should be, for the successors of the nation, now and in the future, strive to continue to care for, develop and preserve various cultural heritages from Indonesia. One of them is batik cultural heritage. Happy National Batik Day 2020.