Malaysian Batik

Distinguish indonesian batik from malaysian batik

The Malays are a seafaring people that spread into Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula as a result of their trade and sailing skills. The fact that the languages of the Malay group are all still highly similar, although being very different from the languages of other peoples of Sumatra, Borneo, and other neighboring areas, indicates that this spread occurred just in the last 1,500 years or so. Malays made up around half of the population of Peninsular Malaysia and roughly one-eighth of the population of East Malaysia in the early twenty-first century.

Malaysian Batik

Although the true origins of batik are unknown, evidence of early batik has been found as far back as 2000 years in the Middle East, Egypt, Peru, Japan, East Turkestan, and Europe, as well as India and China, and has reached its highest artistic expression in South East Asia, particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia. In Malaysia, while the origins of batik are unknown, the states of Kelantan and Terengganu are regarded as the birthplaces of Malaysian batik.

The sultans were primarily responsible for the expansion of batik in these two realms. They helped in the expansion of the industry by encouraging the trial of techniques in mass manufacturing. When Malaysia gained independence in 1957, it looked to batik to help build a national identity, and it eventually became the official national costume for formal occasions. By the 1990s, batik had lost its enchantment, and it wasn't until 2003 that it resurfaced with newfound vigor.

Malaysia Batik has grown from a handicraft to a unique art form that has inspired people all over the world to take an active interest in it. The government and businesses have worked together to keep the country's history alive. Batik has been able to keep up with modern times and adapt to new ones because of this.

Characteristic of Malaysian Batik

Although the origins of batik in Malaysia may be traced back to Indonesia over 100 years ago, Malaysian batik has evolved its own distinctive style over the years. The following are some noticeable differences:

• Malaysian batik artisans stand while drawing the batik on a frame. Our Indonesian counterpart sits and draws the batik without the need for a frame. 
• Malaysian batik contains large floral motifs, but Indonesian batik is intricate and religiously oriented. 
• Malaysian batik colors are vivid, whilst Indonesian batik colors are dark and contain a lot of browns.

Malaysian Batik Motifs

Malaysian motifs can be found on buildings and palaces, carved on pulpits in mosques, woven into mats, etched on kris and other weapons, or embellishing ceramics, batik, and other textile forms. They are generally flowery and geometrical, or a mix of the two. A group of motifs that may be repeated, elaborated on, and distorted, fashioned into curvilinear scrolls and convolutions. 

Repeated patterns are an important aspect in Islamic art; the repetition represents continuity. There is no beginning and no end. Floral motifs can be intertwined in continuous coiling spirals of leaves; they are clean and uncomplicated, exuding a classicism that modern designers emulate. The Holy Qur'an is commonly utilized as decoration on coins, ceramics, metalware, carpets, tombstones, books, woodcarving forms, and Malay woodcarving motifs) and as architectural components, notably in palaces and mosques. It is also often utilized in contemporary Malaysian art.

Type of Malaysian Batik

In Malaysia, there are two major types of batik – hand-drawn batik and stamped batik.

Hand-Drawn Malaysian  Batik

Hand-Drawn Batik is a type of batik in which the motifs are drawn on the fabric using hot liquid wax and a metal device known as a canting.

After the wax outlines have been completed, the painters utilize brushes to paint the dyes within the outlines. Brushes may be used to create shaded and multi-hued graphics.

Cotton, rayon, linen, voile, and silk are among the textiles used. These textiles are made with floral and geometrical patterns that are placed in a variety of ways based on what people are doing now in fashion.

Hand-drawn batik is often created in 4 or 2 meter lengths. Hand-drawn batik in 4 meter length is used for women's apparel, and 2 meter hand-drawn batik is used for men's wear. These outfits are frequently worn on formal occasions. Aside from garments, hand-drawn batik is also used to make scarves, pareos, craftans, and even framed paintings.

Block-Printed Malaysian Batik

Stamped or block-printed batik is another type of batik. A copper block or, occasionally, a wooden stamp with an artistically patterned bottom will be used to replace the canting.

The wax-dipped block is printed onto the cloth, which is then dip-dyed. The wax is then removed, and a single-color batik is created. Waxing with different blocks and dewaxing will be done several times to make multi-colors and more complicated block-printed batik.

Cotton is a common fabric for block-printed batik, and the output amount is around 20 meters, depending on the original fabric size. For casual wear, block-printed batik is usually tailored into shirts and dresses. Block-printed batik is also used as a material in several handicrafts and soft furnishings.

The precise delicacy of hand-drawn batik is lost in block-printed batik, and similar shapes or patterns are repeated on a piece of cloth.

Hand-drawn batik is often sluggish and time-consuming, but block-printed batik is speedier and more appropriate for mass manufacturing. As a result, hand-drawn batik is more costly and limited in supply than block-printed batik.

Identifying Quality Malaysian Batik

Malaysia Batik is an inextricably linked component of Malaysian culture. Despite its broad appeal in the country, not all batik enthusiasts are aware of the time-consuming technique required to make this important legacy.The time it takes to make a batik determines its worth. There are two kinds of batik: batik tulis, which literally means "written batik," and batik cap (stamped batik). Batik tulis is the most expensive of the two since it needs more time and determination to create.

To recognize high-quality batik, consider the following characteristics:

Color Schemes of Malaysian Batik 

The traditional method of manufacturing batik uses malam (hot liquid wax), which was introduced to Java by Gujarati traders in the sixth century. Furthermore, it employs natural dye obtained from leaves and flowers, resulting in earthy tones. The deep-brown color is known as "sogan" in the local language, which is why traditional batik is sometimes referred to as batik sogan. Commercially produced printed batik, on the other hand, uses chemical dyes, resulting in richer and more brilliant colors. The color variety is also more vibrant.

The Reverse Side of Malaysian Batik  

The reverse side of the cloth is the simplest way to recognize a handmade batik. Because just one side of the cloth is printed, the reverse side of a printed batik is noticeably faded. The color of a hand-drawn batik tulis, on the other hand, is uniform on both sides since the cloth is submerged in a vat of dye.

Unique Appearance of Malaysian Batik 

Each stroke of a batik tulis is hand-drawn with a canting, giving each batik a unique look.Because batik tulis are hand-drawn, there may be stains and irregularities; the strokes may not be as accurate as those on a printed batik, but this lovely muddle is what makes them so valued.

The Importance of Malaysian Batik

What distinguishes batik from other fabrics? It is made in such a way that it must go through the delicate and repetitive process of waxing, coloring, and boiling. Because wax acts as a color blocker throughout the coloring process, it will be utilized to cover any areas of the cloth that do not wish to be stained with colors.

Preparing the cloth, tracing the patterns, stretching the cloth on the frame, waxing the portion of the cloth that does not need dying, preparing the dye, dipping the cloth in the die, boiling the cloth to remove wax, and waxing the cloth in soap are all sub-processes.

Because batik will go through several processes such as putting wax on, dying, drying, and removing the wax, a more colorful batik cloth implies that it has gone through more of the process. To generate the appropriate pattern of figures, the procedures must occur in a specific order, as well as the arrangement of colors.

Malaysia Batik cloth is extremely flexible since it may be used to make clothing, paintings, scarves, purses, tablecloths, bedspreads, curtains, and other ornamental objects. Traditional batik is often associated with silk or cotton. However, the reintroduction of natural dyes and techniques has broadened the reach to include unexpected materials for fashion clothes such as chiffon, velvet, georgette, cheesecloth, and voile. Cotton and silk are the most widely used textiles for batik painting, along with poplin, voile, rayon, habotai silk, crepe de chine, jacquard, and satin.

Instead of simply being a handicraft, batik has earned the status of an art form, a versatile medium that can be used as a hobby for a novice or as a medium of expression for an artist. Modern batik, rather than being limited to dresses and fitted clothing, is more vibrant and colorful in the shapes of murals, wall hangings, paintings, household linen, and scarves. Batik, in the hands of an expert, may also make your home or business distinctive and appealing. 

Malaysian Batik should be maintained in a clean, tidy, neat, and routinely swept environment at all times. In recent years, Westerners have developed a fascination with batik painting, which is often done in the canting method and has evolved into a highly skilled art form. Batik painting, like oil painting, is a one-of-a-kind work of art. Frames made of wood and rattan, wood-crafted hangers, light boxes, ornamental sheets made of Perspex or glass, and scrolls can all be used to enhance batik paintings.

Malaysian Batik History

In the 1920s, the vision and business energy of Haji Che Su of Kelantan and Haji Ali of Terengganu established the groundwork for the local manufacturing of the Batik Sarong. Javanese batik, on the other hand, has been available in peninsular Malaysia since the early nineteenth century. This entrepreneur was also behind the early attempts to create batik-type material locally, making experimental textile designs without wax using a pattern pressed onto the cloth using wooden blocks. 

This was popularly known as "batik pukul" (stamped cloth), but it was also known as "kain batik Kedah" due to its prominence in that state. Haji Che Su and his sons later used the stencil or silkscreen process to produce batik sarongs with motifs reproduced in the pekalongan style of Javanese batik, which is characterized by large floral bouquets with an intricate geometric background pattern, usually consisting of traditional motifs of central Java. 

The business of creating and exporting this type of affordable batik known as "batik jawa" developed with the founding of their family firm known as Samasa Batik, which still makes silk-screened batik today. This is the incentive for batik-making as a cottage business in Kelantan, one of Malaysia's states. Following that, batik production moved to the adjacent state of Terengganu, where Haji Ali established a family company to create batik sarongs.

By the 1930s, batik producers on the Malay Peninsula's east coast began employing wax and metal blocks to create batik blocks. Initially, copper blocks were brought from Java for this purpose. Later, brass and tin ones were created locally. Steel cloth hacked to the pattern of Javanese batik-for the center panel of the sarong designs featured flower bouquets and other themes such as peacocks and ducks. Batik manufacturing was halted during the Japanese occupation. Following the conflict, batik design evolved with the addition of local themes and patterns.

In the 1940s, Kelantan had up to 60 batik manufacturers, with many more in Terengganu. With the formation of the Rural and Industrial Development Authority, the government increased its support for industry. Various kinds of assistance were offered in the mid-1950s to grow tiny rural cottage businesses, and the establishment of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) in the early 1960s advanced the batik enterprises even further. 

MARA fostered the creation of new distinctly Malaysian themes as well as various production processes; for example, instead of the typical two-meter batik sarong, hand-printed Malaysia Batik by the yard was developed. Later, improvements such as the "crackle effect" and the discharge method of coloring were adopted. This type of batik gained popularity because it could be turned into apparel and outfits for both casual and formal usage. Furthermore, the use of different materials like cotton, lawn, voile, and handcrafted batik is good for tropical climates.