The Mystery of Jambi Batik

Jambi, on the east coast of central Sumatra, Indonesia, has a textile tradition shrouded in mystery. In fact, Jambi seems to have had two textile traditions: the tradition of lembato yellow and indigo blue batiks discovered by the Dutch in the 1920s – which nearly died out by the time the Japanese invaded in 1942 – and an older, perhaps ancient tradition of morinda red cloths that all but disappeared in the mid-19^th century. Nevertheless, Jambi batik is again flourishing today, thanks to the persistence of a handful of women who carried the tradition through the worst of times.

Jambi was an important trading center from at least the 7th century CE and is believed to have been the site of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Melayu. The fine imported cottons and silks from China, India, Java, and the Arab world were highly valued by the royal families, while simpler cloths were exchanged for goods such as wax, resin, ivory, and incense from upstream people in the interior. By the 16th century, Dutch and English ships were also arriving at the Jambi Sultanate to trade in Indian cloth and pepper....

Read more:  http://nowjakarta.co.id/the-mystery-of-jambi-batik                       text by Marianne Scholte