'Gajah Uling' batik: The pride of Banyuwangi

'Gajah Uling' batik: The pride of Banyuwangi

By Antariksawan Jusuf

BANYUWANGI, East Java (JP): When the name Banyuwangi is
mentioned, many Indonesians think of it as the land of erotic
Gandrung dance. But not many of them realize the significance of
the type of batik worn by the dancers. It is certainly not the
Surakarta batik with rich creams and browns juxtaposed by
yellowish gold. Nor is it the somber opulence of brown and blue
dyes as in the Yogyakarta style. Nor is it the Pekalongan
pattern.

Gandrung dancers wear a plain white background with brownish
black flowery motifs in a question-mark like pattern in the
middle of the cloth. That question-mark like pattern is called
Gajah Uling and it is typical and distinctive, although not found
exclusively in Banyuwangi.

Among an estimated three thousand batik patterns designed in
Java's principal batik centers of Surakarta, Yogyakarta and
Pekalongan, Gajah Uling is found as a minor feature drawn in a
corner of a more elaborate and complicated pattern, according to
Soedjojo Dulhadji, owner of a batik craft center named Sayuwiwit.
The name was derived from a local heroine, the leader of a
resistance group against the Dutch colonial powers of the mid
1770s.

Soedjojo is also one of the prominent people to help the
Banyuwangi batik reach its current social status in the eastern
tip of Java. He started his batik business in 1995. Over the
years, he has conducted several visits to Surakarta and
Yogyakarta to study the origins of Gajah Uling, but to no avail.
He also holds a certificate for batik production from the Bureau
for Research and Development of Batik Craft Industry in
Yogyakarta.

Soedjojo is from the Temenggungan area, home to the centuries-
old audience hall of the Banyuwangi (formerly Blambangan)
kingdom. This hall is currently the office of the Banyuwangi
regent. Temenggung is the historical title of a high-ranking
official during the colonial period.

It is no coincidence that now the Temenggungan area is known
as the center of Banyuwangi batik production. Soedjojo believes
that during the time when the Blambangan kingdom was under the
control of the Mataram kingdom of Yogyakarta, batik was created
by women in the royal family. But the servants of the office of
the temenggung practiced their batik skills at home. The skill in
batik craft was inherited by thee children of Temenggungan where
today where hundreds of batik artisans hand-paint plain white
fabric into pieces of colorful cloth.

There are some 15 types of Banyuwangi batik pattern, but Gajah
Uling stands out as the most popular. And today Banyuwangi batik
refers mostly to Gajah Uling.

Other designs include Kangkung Setingkes (a bundle of kangkung
vegetables), Kopi Pecah (broken coffee beans), Sembruk Cacing (a
pack of worms), Alas Kobong (burning jungle), Paras Gempal
(broken stone), and Moto Pitik (chicken's eyes). They are all
rich in symbolic associations and meanings. Javanese ancestors
usually had their personal philosophies and lessons for life
expressed as symbols in children's songs and in batik patterns
rather than having them in books.

What does Gajah Uling really mean? There is no common
agreement even among batik crafters in Banyuwangi regarding the
meaning of Gajah Uling. But an elder observer from Temenggungan,
Wak Jahari, said gajah (elephant) is the biggest animal on earth.
It symbolizes the great God. And uling is derived from eling, an
old Javanese word referring to the action of remembering the God.

The original colors, white background and brownish black,
respectively refer to eternity and good characteristics.

Gajah Uling's popularity now extends beyond Gandrung dancers
in Banyuwangi. School children wear it for uniforms, and local
government officials and people from almost all walks of life are
seen donning Gajah Uling for functions such as official
ceremonies and wedding parties.

The Association of People of Banyuwangi, whose origins are in
Jabotabek (Ikawangi), make it a must for members of their
organizing committee to wear the Gajah Uling for their annual
gathering.

To meet the varying tastes of potential customers, Soedjojo
also creates and designs more colorful, elaborate patterns of
Gajah Uling. The color goes beyond the traditional brownish
black, red and maroon. He provides his customers a choice from a
plain cotton sarong to a ready to wear lounge shirt.

There is no record of total production of Banyuwangi batik.
The three major producers, including Sayuwiwit, are estimated to
produced more than 60,000 meters a year.