Pekalongan: "My Indonesia" Photo Series (1)

Ibu Umi Amiroh make traditional batik.  Kampung Desa Terban. Warungasem. Pekalongan, 10 November 2017

Today we start the journey in the provinces of Indonesia that I loved the most, the more traditional, rural ones and where the atmosphere you breathe is still that of the original kampung.

The first city is Pekalongan, in central Java, where I stayed for two days in 2017.

This city gave me two unforgettable moments: the first was to be able to see and photograph again the female social ritual of laundry and bath in the river in the early morning, one of the customary daily activities that also serve as a chance to socialize for women in the village which has started to disappear in many countries because of modernization and cultural change, as we have seen for Malaysia.

Women at the river for bathing and laundry. Kampung Desa Masin. Warungasem. Pekalongan, 10-11 November 2017

 

The second is related to this city in particular, famous for being the cradle of the manufacture of traditional batik, still made by hand – this was the reason why my friends brought me to this city.

Unfortunately, the reality was very different, and what was once the symbolic place of batik, where many families lived on this and the shops were on every corner, has now given way to industrial production. In the whole village I was able to find only one woman, Ibu Umi Amiroh, who still makes the batik with the heated wax.

She herself told me that by now all those who produced hand-made batiks like her had surrendered to industrial production, which churns out thousands of batiks in a short time, whose quality, however, is much lower. The shops that sold traditional batiks also closed or replaced the sale with modern ones. Seeing her making this batik stir up a great emotion.

The Grogolan market and the Iqro classes (reading of the Koran and Arabic) for children and the elderly are also very nice. And also the performance of Art Folk Dance in the middle of the night, in the mud and in the rain, was truly suggestive, with hypnotic music and Kuda Lumping.

This time I prefer the photographs to speak.

Have a good trip.

 

Pasar Grogolan (Traditional market). 11 November 2017

Pasar Pagi (Traditional morning market). 10 November 2017

Friday prayer. Masjid Agung Al Jami. 10 November 2017

Women going to “ngaji” (Quran and Arabic lessons). Pengajian Yayasan "Ribathul Mubtadiin". Kampung Desa Terban. Warungasem, 10 November 2017

Women after finished “ngaji” (Quran and Arabic lessons). Kampung Desa Terban. Warungasem, 10 November 2017

 

Iqro lesson at home. Kampung Desa Terban. Warungasem, 10 November 2017

“Acara Seni Budaya Jawa Tengah” (Folk Art Event Central Jawa). “Turonggo Panuntun Group”,
Desa Banyu Gantang. Kampung Tanggulangin. Sawangan, 11 November 2017

About the city (from Wikipedia):

Pekalongan is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. The city is Central Java's most important port, and is known for its batik. Since December 2014, Pekalongan is a member of UNESCO’s World’s Creative Cities Network. Pekalongan is the first Indonesian city and first South East Asian city listed as member of UNESCO’s World’s Creative Cities Network.
The history of Pekalongan dated back to the early 12th century. A book written in 1178 by a Song dynasty official already had record of Pekalongan, then known to Chinese merchants as “Pukalong”, it was then a seaport of Java (then known as Dvapa); the king of Java lived at Pukalong, knotted his hair at the back of his head, while his people wore short hair and wrapped their body with colorfully weaved cloth. Chinese merchant ship set sail from Canton during November, with the aid of fair wind sailed nonstop day and night, arrived at Pukalong in about one month. The people made wine from coconuts, produced very delicious red and white cane sugar, the kingdom made coins out of bronze and copper, 60 copper coins exchanged for one tael of gold. Local produces included pepper, clove, sandalwood, eaglewood and white round cardamom.
Pekalongan became a part of the empire of the Sultanate of Mataram through treaty and marriage alliances by the early 17th century. The area was on the geographic periphery of the empire, which was based in interior central Java. However, it was a wealthy area, and by the end of the 17th century, the substantial money and produce it sent to the center made it a key part of Mataram's realm. The area went into economic decline during the 18th century, and the Dutch East India Company began to gain substantial influence over the area's political and economic life. The Dutch built a fort in the city in 1753; this fort still stands.

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