Indubitably, Malaysian Batik is an art in itself. The process of making it has been part of the colorful culture of people from eastern states of Malaysia including Kelantan. What makes it different from batik from other countries is the absence of human and animal designs with the exception of butterflies because their religion forbids the use of animal images as decorative motifs. Nonetheless, geometrical figures, floral and foliage in large designs make it aesthetically appealing.
On our second day in Kota Bharu, we met our taxi cab driver who served as our tour guide as well; our trip started at around 2PM. Although I have a list of places of interest, we appreciated that Mr. Nasri who was endorsed by his colleague, Mr. Kamel (the equally friendly driver-tour guide on our first day) suggested we go first to a nearby Batik factory.
Roughly 10 minutes after leaving the hotel, we found ourselves amazed at how Batik is made.
Perhaps, because we were in awe, I forgot to ask the name of the factory. Mr. Nasri explained that most of his tourist-passengers from all over the globe who visited Kota Bharu were brought to this batik making factory and inevitably marveled. He told us that the technique used in Kelantan differs from batik making process in Indonesia and other Asian countries.
Ladies who make the batik use heated wax to outline every design in the fabric. This will keep the colors in particular shape once applied.
They also use rock salt to have a desired effect.
The prints are truly praise-worthy!
Batik can be worn by men in formal dinner and ladies may combine them with modern fashion. The government suggests the wearing of Batik every 1st and 15t day of the month as a part of their 1Malaysia campaign (sourced from Wiki)
Do you see yourself wearing a Malaysian Batik ?
Stay tuned for few more posts on this series. Terima Kasih!
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Special thanks to our friends whom we met on the road and made our Kelantan trip more than amazing :
Mr. Nik Mat Kamal -our taxi cab driver-tour guide on our 1st day; you may reach him at +60129909538 and +60199735439.
Mr. Mohd Nasri Mohd Nawi -our taxi cab driver-tour guide on our 2nd day; you may reach him at +60139425241.
Mr. Muhammad Dain bin Othman (Pak Dain) -the owner and expert maker of Wayang kulit (Shadow Puppet which I will blog soon); his gallery is located at Simpang 3, Morak, Palekbang 16040, Kelantan; website : WayangPakDain
to Gula Kapas who responded to my query by emailing me a google map of the location of wau bulan makers in kelantan.
and to our student, Ain and her dad for welcoming us in their hometown.
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oh my! grabe naman pala ang pag gawa ng batik!
i used to wonder how they make batik, kasi my tita-madre in zamboanga used to give us batik everything (batik bag, batik shirt, batik shorts, etc.) when she was assigned to zamboanga, malapit kasi sa indonesia. i loved the intricate designs of batik. very comfy pa ang cloth!
WOW beautiful work. amazing talaga. kita mo and dama ang hardwork nila
labor intensive pla kaya mahal. out here all i see are indonesia-made batiks. i love batiks. this is one stop i wouldn’t have missed. what a privilege to watch artists at work.
wow! I should go back to Malaysia to see these. =( ay na sad tuloy ako Doc, an dame ko na miss. haha Talo mu pa ang guidebook ko.
Hindi ko makita ang sarili ko na magsusuot ng batik. I’ll give it to my sisters or mom instead. Interesting to know na di sila nagdedesign ng animals. Buti na lang di rebellious ang fashion nila. They respect their beliefs pa din.
Wow.. i think it’s an awesome batik, very unique and artistic