- IMMERSE yourself in indigenous cultures of Bali Island, and explore the largest wonderful variety of its arts and craft niche, chiefly the Bali textile products. There are endek, rangrang, gringsing, prada and batik. Balinese people are proud to wear batik clothes in their daily life. Other than for customary attires, batik is also taken advantage to make accessories like sandal, bag, wallet and others.
The development of tourism sector in Bali has had a positive impact on various supporting industries such as accommodation, catering, fitness, crafts, art studios and textiles.
In terms of textile products, for instance, Balinese people have a variety of product styles, such as endek, rangrang, geringsing, prada, songket and batik. Well, this last mentioned product, namely batik, is also experiencing significant development with the characteristic of Balinese ornaments or motifs.
It is not difficult to get this typical Balinese batik cloth. While traveling in Bali, you can buy them at traditional markets, modern markets to souvenir markets or art shops. Surely, this can be taken advantage as a souvenir to take home.
Balinese people like to use batik in their daily lives, especially during traditional social activities and religious ceremonies such as manusa yadnya (rituals of life cycle). Their traditional clothing set consists of a destar (headband), cloth, saput (fitted over the cloth) and clothes.
Written or printed batik cloth is also used as an ornament on bale pillars or Balinese-style houses. The application of this ornament is used when there is a manusa yadnya ceremony. The colors or motifs are also combined with the nuances of the Balinese interior itself.
Handmade batik
Batik artisans in Bali make products with various Balinese styles where they mix local styles with styles from outside Bali and incorporate elements of Chinese motifs.
The most common methods are printed and hand-drawn batik. With this motif, the craftsmen make designs on the cloth to produce wonderful and high-quality works of art.
In order not to be out of date, batik artisans also innovate by combining traditional Balinese motifs with modern motifs. The designs of the figures drawn are usually taken from Hindu mythology or nature in the form of animals such as turtles, dragons or birds. There are also combination of fauna and flora motif. Then, the color in use takes on a modern feel.
Where to find?
Where can we see and buy these batik fabrics? Tourists can witness this batik activity in a number of art villages such as Tohpati or Kesiman (Denpasar) and Batubulan (Gianyar). Here the batik artisans process it manually and traditionally. Do not worry, many tour packages usually include this shopping time to local art shops. Take advantage of your visit moment to have a closer look and purchase one of them for souvenirs to bring home.
