Batavia also a center for batik

By Ida Indawati Khouw

Some will be surprised to know that parts of old Jakarta, like Yogyakarta and towns in Central Java, were centers of batik- making. The history of the batik areas and their disappearance in the last 20 years is the 76th article in The Jakarta Post's series on old Batavia.

JAKARTA (JP): It's a long, narrow street that does not seem very different from the other rabbit warrens of lanes snaking through the Karet Kuningan area of Central Jakarta.

Yet what gives away the past history of Jl. Tiong are the huge yards and high walls on both sides of the buildings.

The homes were once batik factories, whose workers were brought from traditional batik-making centers such as Pekalongan along the Java coast. The Dutch even gave the batik produced in the area the vernacular term "Batik Karet".

The batik workshops were extensive compounds of large wooden sheds for the batikkers, courtyards with rows of poles for the fabric to be hung to dry on and large homes for the owners.

Long-standing residents regard the type of buildings as typically "rumah Cina" (houses belonging to people of Chinese descent).

"It was the Chinese people who usually owned batik factories here, and such factories were usually protected by high walls," said Irman Rodjali, 58, who has lived all his life on Jl. Tiong.

There were once 23 batik factories along the street, "but not all of them belonged to Chinese. There were also indigenous people who had businesses, so that both ethnic groups established their own societies for batik businesspeople."

There was the Kong Hwe society for Chinese businesspeople and Koperasi Batik Djakarta (KPD) for indigenous-owned operations (it is now a branch of the Federation of Indonesian Batik Cooperatives, GKBI).

The organizations supported the business activities in the area, and Kong Hwe was even able to establish a Chinese school and sports club.

"There was once a soccer field, named Sin Yu field, located next to the present Karta Jaya movie theater (facing toward Jl. Satrio/Casablanca, at the northern end of Jl. Tiong) belonging to the Kong Hwe society," Irman said.

Locals recalled how the area stirred at 6 a.m. as the batikkers went to work.

"But we never felt bothered by the workshops' existence as the batik process did not produce loud sounds, for example. While the liquid waste also did not affect our neighborhood because it was channeled to other areas," said Subagja, 50, who has lived on the street for more than 30 years.

Names such as Bah (from Babah, a term for older Chinese men) Kim San, Bah Kim Lun, Bah Sin Lauw and others were still remembered by the residents as the owners of batik workshops along the street.

Unfortunately, the ethnic Chinese batik businessmen still living there were reluctant to share the history of Kong Hwe.

"It was dissolved years ago," said Lie Gie Tjoe, whose factory is now located in Balaraja, Tangerang.

Batik centers

Jl. Tiong itself was only a small part of the big batik center of Karet.

Batik expert and designer Iwan Tirta said the Central Jakarta areas of Karet, Karet Tengsin, Karet Kuningan, Palmerah, Tanah Abang and Petamburan, and South Jakarta's Kebayoran Lama, were known for their batik production.

When the industries started is unclear but Iwan believes it was in the 1900s, when the areas were still on the outskirts of the growing city of Batavia.

"The outskirts of town were chosen mostly because of their proximity to little creeks or streams that were used to drain the excess water from the batik process, which uses vast amounts of fresh water. The excess dye stuffs were usually drained away in the nearest ditch or stream."

The printed batik was not known for quality, and the Dutch preferred fabric from traditional centers in Java. "Their orientation was on producing massive amounts of product destined for middle to lower class markets on other islands that did not understand about batik," Iwan said.

Motifs, such as flower garlands, followed market demands, and were in bright colors of blue and indigo. Batik brands like Telaga Biru, Delapan Satu, Tirta Madu, Tiga Sekawan still exist to this day, all of which claim to use "Cap Cent", referring to a finer quality of cotton introduced by the Dutch in 1824.

Iwan said that the cotton enabled artisans to produce the detailed batik designs.

"The trademark of this fine cotton was the Dutch cent coin, called in Javanese tjap sen. It was made in the mills around the town of Twente in Holland. In Java, the name tjap sen became synonymous with the finest quality cotton available."

The batik businesses were relocated to other areas, like Tangerang, Bekasi and Cikarang, by 1994 following a ban by the Jakarta administration due to water pollution from their operations.

Most of the factories along Jl. Tiong are now boardinghouses for young office workers -- but their distinctive walls are still standing.

"The walls were needed to keep the workers in, especially those living on the premises, and to frustrate curious eyes," Iwan added.

Name

Another interesting part of Jl. Tiong is its unusual name.

In the past it was known as Gang Tiong, a narrow alley that was always muddy or flooded when it rained.

There is no definitive explanation of the street name, but in the list of street names in Batavia/Djakarta/Jakarta, Beeld van Een Metamorfose, dating back to 1935, there are two similar names, Tio Gang and Tiongkok Gang.

"I think it was during the kampong improvement program in the 1970s, which improved the quality of the street, that the name turned into Jalan Tiong and then was made official," said Irman.

Although Tionghoa is a respectful term for China and the Chinese (Irman estimates about 80 percent of the residents are ethnic Chinese), some residents believe the street was named after a Chinese man, Tiong Soe, who lived in a house which is now the site of Karta Jaya movie theater.

"I vividly remember that the house was marked by a big cherry tree and two lutung (long-tailed monkeys) statues in the front yard. When I was a little boy I saw Bah Tiong Soe many times, sitting on the terrace. He was a typical babah who always wore undershirts and shorts," Irman said.

"For me, Bah Tiong was a scary figure because he was so fat with gray hair."