Batik in Bali

Batik in Bali is initially introduced by  Pande Ketut Krisna in 1970. He came from Banjar Tageha, BatuBulan village, Sukawati, Gianyar Bali. Originally, batik is coming from the word ‘ambatik’ that has a meaning of ‘a cloth with little dots’. Furthermore, the word batik is also originated from Javanese which mean ‘tritik’. Tritik itself is a process of creating batik itself. Even though batik is very popular in Java, but Bali also has its own unique characteristic of Balinese batik or it is usually called Batik Bali. 

In each batik production, every region has different kinds of batik motif. Sometimes the traditional and the modern batik are often mixed as one. The motifs of Batik Bali also combined the original Balinese motif which come from the Balinese culture with the culture outside of Bali. Thus the Balinese motifs are beautiful and exclusive. Here are some Balinese motifs that you should know.

The first one is Batik Bali Buketan. Buketan here originally comes from the word ‘bouquet’ in French which means a bouquet of flowers. Therefore, as the name suggest the motif of Batik Bali Buketan is flowers. The second is Batik Bali Ulam Sari Mas. This Balinese motif is shrimps and fishes. This motif is indicating the natural resources that exist in Bali. 

The third is Batik Bali Singa Barong. This motif of Balinese batik is indicating the Balinese culture. This motifs display the exclusiveness and  diversity of cultures in Bali. By creating this motif, indirectly it could be a way to preserve Balinese culture. Therefore, the more people buy this piece of batik, then the more people will know about the Balinese culture. The next is, Bali Batik Penari Bali. As the name suggest, this Balinese motifs are promoting the types of dances that are existed in Bali. The batik artist also wants to introduce Balinese dance through a piece of batik. 

Another motif of Batik Bali is Batik Bali Merak Abyorhokokai. In English Merak itself means “peacock”. Actually, this Merak Abyor Hokokai is inspired by Japanese culture. However, the motifs of this kind of Batik Bali is still depicting the beauty of Balinese culture. The last but not least is Batik Bali Pisan. The name pisan was taken from stone carvings in 9 centuries that could be found on Java Island. Today, the majority of people call it Batik Pisang. Pisang here means ‘come back again’. Therefore, Balinese often give this batik for their loved ones who want to travel far, so they could return home again one day. Furthermore, this Batik Bali pisang is a symbol for hope, prayer, and salvation.