For the 12th monthly online Wacana Warisan Series (WWS) organised by the Malay Heritage Foundation (MHF), Dr. Azhar Ibrahim conducted a 90-minute webinar on the topic of Seri dan Seni Batik: Lukisan Sejarah Budaya Nusantara (Batik Art: Painting on the Cultural History of the Archipelago). He is a lecturer from the Department of Malay Studies, at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Vice-Chairman of the MHF Board. This session officially marks the final WWS webinar by Dr. Azhar in 2021. The session was delivered in Malay.
Saturday, 18 December 2021 — Dr. Azhar began the webinar with two quotes by Christopher Dawson and Hadjonagoro to set the context of the lecture. He then dived into the history of batik. Batik is still a living tradition to this day. It is still worn and valued as handicraft and national heritage. Batik techniques and markets are improving to the point of becoming a material in the textile and apparel industries. It is a cultural object that is often seen even though many have yet to know its origin and meaning.
Dr. Azhar then shared the common uses of the batik in everyday life, such as a baby wrap or swaddle for a newborn back in the day. Batik is also commonly used for formal events or it can be used as a funeral cloth. Dr. Azhar showed a live example of batik besurek, one of his favourite batik patterns, to the virtual audience. It originates from Sumatra. Batik besurek is very unique as it is kept for only specific occasions. Dr. Azhar continued to show more visual examples of batik patterns such as batik jambi and batik larangan kraton while explaining their history and background.
Batik in the visual arts of the archipelago, on the other hand, is ubiquitous. Dr. Azhar named a few iconic visual artists known for batik such as Malaysian artist, Datuk Chuah Thean Teng, who was widely credited for developing batik as a painting technique. In Singapore, the Cultural Medallion batik artist, the late Pak Sarkasi Said, was one of the pioneers in the region.
The commodity trade and business of batik are equally important. Dr. Azhar shared that other than the batik’s multi-functional use, it is worn by the rich and even common folk. Dominating the batik market also means dominating the marketing segment of everyday consumer goods. We can learn cultural history and layers of beliefs found in the archipelago through batik. We also know the history of growth and renewal with foreign cultures such as the Chinese and the Dutch that gave colour to the development of batik. From there, we can also trace the history of batik migration.
Today, every 2nd of October in Indonesia is dedicated to Hari Batik (Batik Day) and even in Malaysia, government officials are allowed to don batik every Thursday. Batik is increasingly becoming a symbol of the identity of the archipelago. Even in ASEAN countries, the variety of batik patterns is a common sight. Coming to the end of the webinar topic, Dr. Azhar shared a quote by an Arts observer in Malaysia and hope by the late Sarkasi Said as well as a short poem on batik to conclude the final WWS for 2021.
The 12th WWS webinar was followed by a closing Q&A section, where Dr. Azhar addressed several questions from the virtual audience who tuned in via Zoom and Facebook live.
WWS is a series of lectures that aim to encourage the development of new and alternative approaches to the understanding of Malay history, economy, politics, society, and culture. Beyond the clichés and convenient mainstream narratives, lie many lesser-known facts about the Malay community in Singapore. It is a year-long programme (each lecture runs monthly), comprising 12 sessions from January to December 2021. Participants who register and attend via Zoom for at least 10 sessions will be given a Certificate of Attendance. WWS lectures are mostly delivered in Malay.
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