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Education and training in Indonesian Batik intangible cultural heritage for elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic students, in collaboration with the Batik Museum in Pekalongan
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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00000087 Country Indonesia ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Social practices, rituals, festive events Traditional craft skills Address Pekalongan City, Central Java Province, Indonesia
| Description | Indonesian Batik is a traditional hand-crafted textile rich in intangible cultural values, passed down for generations in Java and elsewhere since early 19th Century, made by applying dots and lines in hot wax to cloth using a canthing tulis pen or canthing cap stamp, as a dye-resist. Patterns and motifs have deep symbolism related to social status, local community, nature, history and cultural heritage. The batik community noted the younger generation’s interest in batik is waning, and felt the need to increase efforts to transmit batik cultural heritage to guarantee its safeguarding. Thus, the following is arranged. The program is collaboration between the Batik Museum and elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic, to include education in batik cultural values and traditional handcraft in curricula as local content or subject. The project has gone on for 3 years, and continues to expand to Pekalongan District and neighbouring Batang, Pemalang and Tegal districts. Data and interviews with headmasters, teachers and students prove that the programme is popular and successful. The project is a good example of transmission of intangible cultural values to the younger generations by including modules of cultural heritage in the curricula of educational institutions. The main objectives of the programme are: To increase the awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of Indonesian batik, including its history, cultural values and traditional skills, among the younger generation at elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic educational strata. To increase the awareness of headmasters, teachers, parents and the batik community in Pelaongan, regarding the importance of transmission of batik culture to the younger generations. To involve the management and staff of the Batik Museum in educational activities for students and the general public regarding batik cultural values and training in batik traditional handcraft. The priorities of the programme are: To train staff of the Museum for teaching batik history, cultural values and traditional handcrafts to students. To prepare and distribute proposal invitations to headmasters, so that they would send their students to participate in the programme. To train school teachers to become trainers in batik local content (training of trainers), and/or to place batik craftspersons in schools to give education and training in batik. To organize tests for students participating in the programme, to evaluate the results of the transmission of batik culture |
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| Social and cultural significance | Teaching batik intangible cultural heritage as “local content” within the format of formal lessons as school is an innovative approach, because until now, education and training in intangible cultural heritage has gone on in an informal way. The participating schools have continued to send their students to join in the programme every year. This programme constitutes an effort to (a) safeguard intangible cultural heritage – by transmitting cultural heritage to the future generation, (b) ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage – by giving a respectable place for the cultural heritage of Indonesian Batik as local content within the curricula of various strata of formal education, beginning from elementary, junior, senior and vocational schools up to polytechnic; and (c) raise awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage at the local, national and hopefully international level – by involving the communities concerned directly in a programme to increase the appreciation of the younger generations as well as the general public. Interviews were conducted with participants and batik community members. Their responses were: All respondents liked this training programme. One elementary school student requested that batik training be given every day. All respondents considered that the programme helped all participants to increase their appreciation of batik cultural heritage and traditional handcrafts. Headmasters and teachers considered their students enlivened by this programme, as it gave them a worthwhile skill which could earn them income in the future, and helped to develop students’ concentration, patience, self-confidence and collaboration skills. The students began to spontaneously create their own batik designs, based upon what they had learned e.g. making a batik of their school logo. Some students would work on a single piece of batik together in a group. This trained them in good cooperation (learning to live together). The programme has been expanded to Pekalongan District, and the neighboring districts of Batang, Pemalang and Tegal. Visitors to the Batik Museum are invited to join in the programme, The students are allowed to take home with them the batik which they themselves have produced during the training, to show to their parents and friends. The students interviewed expressed pride in what they had achieved. This has also served to increase awareness among parents and the general public regarding batik cultural heritage. The interviewer noted a sense of happiness and enthusiasm among all the trainers, teachers and students who participated in this programme at all levels. All expressed their resolve that the programme should continue and expand in the future. |
| Transmission method | Firstly, the staff at the Batik Museum was trained to give instructions in batik cultural values and traditional handcrafts. Teaching materials were prepared. The level of instruction and training was geared to the educational level of the participants. The programme used the exhibition halls of the museum for lessons on theory, history and cultural values of batik, while the museum workshop was used for the practical workshops in the traditional handcrafts of hand drawn and hand stamped batik. Sponsors were sought among batik producers, to minimize the cost of the training for the students. This helped participants who were not well off economically. Support of the City Government was sought. Invitation proposals were circulated to educational institutions in Pekalongan City. The training programme commenced in 2006, initially at the Batik Museum. Later on, as the programme developed, school teachers were trained through a programme of “training of trainers”, so that batik education and training could be carried out at educational institutions having facilities, while the evaluation testing would be done at the Batik Museum. The batik education and training retained the original oral system of transmission. Some batik producers have also begun holding workshops for students, using the pattern established by this programme. The theory of cultural values and practice of traditional handcrafts of hand drawn and hand stamped batik have been inserted into school curricula at various levels as “local content”. Some schools have also included material related to batik into other subjects. For example, language lessons have used written articles related to batik; biology and chemistry lessons have discussed the natural colours used for making batik, etc. Students hear explanations from batik experts regarding batik cultural values, e.g. history of batik, symbolism of various motifs and patterns, significance of the special motifs and patterns of various areas, and also training in the stages in the process of maming batik, which they can then practice themselves, beginning from making natural colours, making patterns, drawing and stamping batik, hand-dyeing, boiling to remove the wax, up till the finished batik. Students can take home the batik which they have made themselves, to show to their parents and friends, or even to be exhibited or sold. |
| Community | Batik Museum Institute in Pekalongan (the Batik Museum in Pekalongan henceforward referred to as the Batik Museum)nManagement and staff of the Batik MuseumnElementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic headmasters, teachers and students in Pekalongan City, Central JavanBatik Community in Pekalongan CitynLocal and foreign visitors to the Batik Museum |
| Type of UNESCO List | Good Safeguarding Practices |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List | 2009 |
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