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Indonesia Destination Guides > Crafts
Indonesia : Jambi : Crafts
Crafts  Batik Jambi is indeed a craft of tremendous beauty and its technique is a cultural treasure. The uniqueness of Batik Jambi lies in its traditional fabrics and motifs.
The batik technique goes back as far as the Melayu Jambi Kingdom, which was arguably the center of the Hindunese Kingdom of Sriwijaya in the 4th century. Even these days, the process of batik printing can be a long and tedious one - a small copper cup, known as a janting, featuring a bamboo handle and one or more spouts, is used to drip wax in intricate patterns on both sides of a piece of fabric. The fabric is then immersed into a dye to color the exposed areas.
The process is repeated until the desired patterns and colors are obtained. Boiling the fabric thoroughly removes the wax and it is then hung in the shade to air-dry. Batik can never be dried in the sun because the direct sunlight kills its color. Batik Jambi can be used for many purposes such as a simple painting, a formal sarong, an elegant cushion cover, or even a tie.
The wooden furniture of Jambi is made from ex-logging activities that are strongly opposed because they sadly extend more damage to the green jungles and canopies in the heart of Sumatra.
Most of this hand made furniture is crafted from very big tree roots (diameter ranging 1.5 m - 3 m ), and each of them display a very distinctive internal wood texture and hardness. Australia, South Korea and Japan have been the main destinations for export of this furniture, in particular the tree root tables. |
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