Bali has a profound handloom textile tradition. These textiles are crucial in Balinese society as they play many roles in standing. Gringsing, Endek, Rangrang, Poleng, and Prada are famous as traditional Balinese clothes.
There is no historical context that Red Thread can find about who first brought Batik to Bali and when. Our guess is after the Majapahit Kingdom fell and many Hindu Javanese people then migrated to Bali. But we know that in 1963 Bali welcomed its first Batik store and gallery called Batik Popiler.
They bought Javanese Batik to resell them to both locals and tourists in Denpasar. It wasn’t until some years later that they began to produce their own Batik.Around 1970, a man named Pande Putu Krishna from Batubulan, Gianyar, pioneered the movement of Bali style Batik. New patterns of Batik inspired by the fauna and flora of Bali emerged. At first, the shape and colors were similar to the classic Batik which primarily uses brown tinting. But as Bali artists continue to explore, we would see more colors, and patterns, then later add the tie-dye technique (jumputan) to it.
There is no historical context that Red Thread can find about who first brought Batik to Bali and when. Our guess is after the Majapahit Kingdom fell and many Hindu Javanese people then migrated to Bali. But we know that in 1963 Bali welcomed its first Batik store and gallery called Batik Popiler.
They bought Javanese Batik to resell them to both locals and tourists in Denpasar. It wasn’t until some years later that they began to produce their own Batik.Around 1970, a man named Pande Putu Krishna from Batubulan, Gianyar, pioneered the movement of Bali style Batik. New patterns of Batik inspired by the fauna and flora of Bali emerged. At first, the shape and colors were similar to the classic Batik which primarily uses brown tinting. But as Bali artists continue to explore, we would see more colors, and patterns, then later add the tie-dye technique (jumputan) to it.
Pisang Bali, and Barong Bali
We then began to see dances, rituals, and daily routines as Bali-style Batik patterns.
Buketan
Buketan is prominent as the Bali Batik motif. As the name implies, buketan means a bunch of flowers. The name comes from the French language; bouquet. This Batik Bali motif is in the form of flower plants or small plants arranged along with the fabric with additional decorations in the form of butterflies, hongs, and storks that add to the aesthetic value.
Abyorhokokai
Another significant motif of Bali batik is the Abyorhokokai. It depicts the beauty of the peacock as an axis of the fabric. Since this motif was influenced by Japanese culture, the petals look similar to cherry blossom flowers.