'Longest batik' record broken in Bandung municipality

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Some 300 people wound 446.6 meters of batik around Gedung Sate in Bandung on Saturday, marking a record for the longest length of batik ever made in Indonesia. The batik was much longer than the 130-meter long batik produced and exhibited in Cirebon two years ago.

"Breaking the new record was part of our efforts to popularize batik," said Komarudin Kudiya, a batik businessman from Cirebon, who initiated the record breaking attempt.

In order to break his own record of two years ago, the businessman mobilized 40 batikmakers from Cirebon and Bandung, and after 18 months work hard, the longest batik ever made was presented to public.

The artisans painted batik motives on a 446.6-meter long, 1.15-meter wide cloth. The batik was made in the Majalaya area of Bandung, a well-known textile area in the city.

The record was witnessed by Paulus Pangka from the Indonesian Records Museum (MURI) and was witnessed by Jaya Suprana, a MURI executive; Prof. Mike Hardy, an executive from the British Council in Jakarta who also represented the Guinness World Records based in the United Kingdom; and local government officials, such as the chief of the Cultural Office of the West Java provincial government, Ijudin Budiana.

Komar said that the batik had 112 color combinations and 407 different local motives that hailed from various areas around the country. The batik was held up by 300 people who surrounded the Gedung Sate Building -- the office of the West Java governor -- which celebrated its 85th anniversary on July 27.

The making of Indonesia's longest batik was financed by the Indonesian Batik Foundation.

Hardy said that the record would be conveyed to the office of the Guinness World Records in the United Kingdom, which would verify whether such a record already existed before they registered a new record.

Agus Gustyar, the chief of Trade and Industry Office at the West Java provincial administration, said that the record was meaningful for batik producers as the batik industry had been important to West Java's economy. There are some 400 batik producers in the province, who are spread over eight regencies and municipalities. The batikmakers produce both printed and handmade batik. "Batik sales in the province each month generate Rp 57 billion (US$5.8 million) in gross revenues for batik producers, and it contributes significantly to the province's economy," said Agus.

The batik will be stored using large 50-centimeter diameter iron coils. The batik will next be exhibited for public viewing at the Archipelagic Batik Exhibition set to be held at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center in Jakarta between the 6th and 9th of October this year.

After the exhibition, the batik will then be put on display in the Textile Museum in Jakarta.