Textile Museum course enlivens afternoons during Ramadhan
Textile Museum course enlivens afternoons during Ramadhan
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Islamic tradition teaches that even the sleep of those fasting
during Ramadhan is blessed.
But Fany feels that taking courses at the Textile Museum
instead of an afternoon nap is an even better way to fill her
time.
"Taking a course is better than just doing nothing at home. I
hope someday, I can use my skills to develop my own business,"
she said recently.
Fany, a part-time employee of a United Nations agency here,
was intently drawing a pattern on a piece of white cloth in
preparation for creating a batik headscarf.
She was attending a one-day session of a series of special
Ramadhan batik courses being held each day between 9 a.m and 3
p.m from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10.
During Ramadhan, the batik students learn not only how to
apply batik designs to plain cloth, but also how to make the
designed fabric into items useful for religious practices around
Idul Fitri.
For Rp 100,000 (US$11), anyone taking the one-day course can
learn how to make a traditional Muslim scarf from their custom-
designed batik, or learn how to make a batik prayer rug for Rp
50,000 or batik Idul Fitri greeting cards for just Rp 15,000.
However, one must try to ignore the crowd of street vendors in
front of the museum on Jl. K.S. Tubun, West Jakarta, near the
Tanah Abang textile market and enter the wide breezy space of the
pleasant gallery.
Fany is one of dozens of students and employees taking courses
at the museum, which is displaying hundreds of traditional
textiles from across the country.
The courses are taking place in a new wooden structure to the
left of the main museum building.
Museum program coordinator Mis Ari said the one-day courses
aimed to provide positive activities for people, especially the
young, during the fasting month.
"The activities are also meant to enliven the museum. People
would most likely be reluctant to come to the museum because of
the crowds of vendors, but with the courses they really want to
visit us," Ari said.
Outside of Ramadhan, the museum also offers a four-day course
on batik making, but does not teach how to create specific items
from the fabric designed.
Not only locals take the batik courses; many foreigners
participate as well. On one morning, several Japanese housewives
were seen taking the four-day course.
Fuji Orikawa has taken batik classes for a total of six
months. The mother of three children is now able to use the
canting (dipper) to draw Batik motifs.
There are two kinds of motifs -- pesisiran and classical --
which are taught in the courses. Pesisiran motifs are from Java's
coastal areas, while the classical motifs originate from either
Yogyakarta or Solo.
The standard batik course, which costs Rp 250,000 per four-day
session, is divided into four elements. The first is the drafting
and designing of a motif with one color. The second introduces
dyeing techniques using two colors.
The third teaches the use of a variety of colors and painting
while the fourth introduces dyes made from plants.
All the materials, cloths, dippers, colors and wax are
provided by the museum. The participants come empty-handed and go
home with their batik creations. Some 20 instructors are on hand
ready to help the students.
"It's not a profit-oriented program. It's just an initiative
to enliven the museum," Ari said.