The origins of the Batik technique have been debated for many years. Until 1920, many believed that Batik came from the south of India and from there taken to Indonesia by Indians. A smaller group supported the idea that of Batik came from Egypt or Persia. However, after WWII some researchers have been able to demonstrate that Batik was a native art from Indonesia that never received external influence. Presently, this theory is commonly accepted by the scientific community as the most probable.
The main reasons supporting the Indonesian origin are the following:
1. Researches have proven that the basic Batik skill using materials resistant to the paints to cover the parts that the artist does not want to be painted has been found in areas of Indonesia that were never under Hindu influence. The most well-known examples of this are the islands of Flowers, Halmahera , the region Toraja de Célebes and Irián Occidental.
2. The skill of immersion, in which the canvas is submerged repeatedly in paints extracted from plants and trees, has been known and practiced for a long time across the entire archipelago.
3. The materials used to make the traditional batik paints are all native to Indonesia and have been used for centuries.
Another example is Tarun, a paint derived from the indigo plant, which is important in Batik. Its name comes from Taramanegara, which is the name of the most ancient kingdom of Java and dates back to the 5th century.
Additionally, the mengkudu tree, from which the brilliant reds are derived, is not found in India. The tree that produces typically “soga”, which is incomparably range of browns ranging from deep resplendent red to brilliant gold, is mostly found in the non-Hindu parts of Indonesia. Sumbawa and Celebes have traditionally exported large amount of “soga” .
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