On October 1, 2009, UNESCO announced Indonesian Batik as part of The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Batik is deeply woven into the fabric of Indonesian life—from birth to farewell. Infants are carried in batik slings, couples wear batik to celebrate their marriage, and in their final moments, individuals are shrouded in funerary batik, following a deeply rooted cultural tradition.
While cities like Pekalongan, Solo, and Yogyakarta are well-known for their traditional batik, few know of a hidden gem in Central Java—Gumelem, a small village in Banjarnegara Regency, where the tradition of batik-making is cultivated from generation to generation.
Finding the Location
As a small village in the modest regency of Banjarnegara, Gumelem is still largely unknown to many tourists. Located about 41.3 kilometers from the town square, it can be reached in roughly an hour by car.
The journey itself is a peaceful experience.The view along the road feels calming and refreshing. Surrounded by mountains, the locals wake up in the morning to the same beautiful scenery as part of their everyday life.
Home to Traditional Hand-Drawn Batik
The people of Gumelem became familiar with batik during the era of the Gumelem Kademangan, under the rule of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom. The village’s batik is distinguished by its earthy color palette—dominated by browns, blacks, and yellows—and motifs that set it apart from those in other regions.
These patterns blend influences from both the Islamic Mataram and the Banyumasan kingdoms. Signature motifs such as udan liris and rujak senthe reflect Gumelem’s artistic roots and cultural identity.
The process of making batik tulis is not a short one. It begins with mola (design sketching), followed by nglowong and ngiseni (outlining and filling in the patterns with wax), ngewarna (dyeing), ngeblok (color blocking), nglorod (removing the wax), washing, and finally drying the fabric. The complexity of this process is what gives batik-tulis a higher value compared to printed batik.
Empowering Local Women to Grow and Earn
The hand-drawn batik artisans in Gumelem Village are predominantly women. Many of them are elderly and have practiced the art of batik for decades. A key reason they choose this profession is that it allows them to work from home while managing their household duties.
As the fame of Gumelem Batik spreads, it brings with it greater economic opportunities for these artisans. This empowerment allows them to contribute to their households, and build independence.
Heritage Passed Down Through Generations
The skill of batik-making among the artisans of Gumelem is not something mastered overnight. Many of them have dedicated decades to perfecting the art. What makes Gumelem batik unique is the way this skill is inherited—most artisans learn directly from their parents, who in turn learned from their own parents, and so on. This creates an unbroken chain of tradition that has stood the test of time.
Batik-making in Gumelem is more than just a craft; it is a heritage passed down from generation to generation. Gumelem Village is open and welcoming to the public. Visitors—ranging from tourists to institutions—come not only to purchase the beautifully hand-drawn batik but also to gain a deeper understanding of the art form.
Among these visitors are schoolchildren, university students, and community groups who come to learn firsthand. Many even try their hand at nyanting—applying hot wax to fabric with a special pen-like tool, a crucial step in the batik process. In doing so, they don’t just acquire a skill; they become part of a cultural experience.
Ultimately, producing hand-drawn batik is not just about creating beautiful patterns on cloth. It is an act of preservation—keeping alive a noble cultural legacy and sustaining one of Indonesia’s contributions to the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Open Arms of Gumelem
Gumelem Village may lie in a quiet corner of the country, far from the spotlight, but it stands firm—guarding culture, nurturing ancestral heritage, and ready to welcome you with open arms when you come to visit.
References:
Friskadewi, N., & Setiadi. (2020). The challenges of batik workers: A case study at Gumelem Banjarnegara. In Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities (IJCAH 2020) (Vol. 491, pp. 1296–1302). Atlantis Press.
Ardhanariswari, R., & Marwah, S. (2018). Analisis gender terhadap peran perempuan perajin batik Gumelem dalam pelestarian warisan budaya dan pemenuhan ekonomi keluarga. Yinyang: Jurnal Studi Islam, Gender dan Anak
