Arientha Primanita & Dessy Sagita

Puteri Indonesia pageant finalists pose in front of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle wearing batik on Friday. (Photo: Prasetyo Utomo, Antara)

UN Batik Recognition Swells Indonesia's Pride

With the nation focused on the tragedy of Wednesday’s Padang earthquake, Indonesians still found time to feel pride in batik cloth, which was officially designated by Unesco, the UN cultural organization, as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The designation seemed to give Indonesia a symbolic victory in a running feud with Malaysia over cultural heritage. The decisi o n became official on Friday, as millions of people followed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s request that they wear the national symbol to celebrate.

At the Dukuh Atas train station, where thousands of commuters stop every morning, the bustling platform was a riot of color as batik was the order of the day. Most parts of Jakarta were the same.

“Wow, I feel like I’m in the sea of batik, hopefully there will be no one else claiming batik after today,” a young woman at the station said.

“I’m so excited to be part of this event, although I wear batik most of the time,” another woman, Mariyani, said, adding that she bought her daughter a top that cost Rp 800,000 ($83) because she insisted on wearing batik.

“It’s more expensive than other batik I have bought,” she said. “We bought it anyway.”

At City Hall, all civil servants were told to wear batik. “Batik is declared by Unesco as part of the world’s heritage from Indonesia,” said Nurjanah, who works in city administration and wore a pink and green batik dress. “That’s a big deal. I’m so proud today.”

Meanwhile, Malaysia seemed to throw in the towel, at least, for this round. A Malaysian delegation congratulated Indonesia on the honor at a Unesco meeting on Friday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Antara reported.

To see photos of Jakarta Globe readers wearing batik on Batik Day, click on our photo albums below. You can add your photo by uploading it to our Facebook page, tweeting it to @thejakartaglobe, or e-mailing it to us at batikaroundworld@gmail.com.

Batik Day in Indonesia!
Batik Day around the World!