Today one of our Bahasa Indonesia tutors (who is just a few years older than us) had her graduation ceremony and invited us to watch. Feng Yi and I were in awe of the boys and girls donning beautiful batik clothes and kebayas underneath their graduation gowns.
It made me think about the popularity of batik in modern times. In Singapore, most young adults and youths would never think of wearing batik shirts to a party or a job interview. Yet in Arab Street and here in Malioboro - the Jogja equivalent of a major tourist shopping district - Caucasian tourists pay through the nose (and are usually ripped off) in their search for authentic batik shirts, paintings, table runners and the like.
Batik is still very much revered in Jogjakarta and Indonesia. I like seeing the Indonesians wear batik shirts, I think it becomes them very well and makes them look very smart. They wear batik to weddings, to conferences, for their daily wear, and even for their graduation ceremonies.
This is our tutor Mbak Nur who graduated from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (Fakulti Ilmu Budaya) with her mom who is wearing a matching batik top. Selamat sukses Mbak Nur!
No comments:
Post a Comment