If Batik Feels Like Wedding Attire, Does That Mean Youth Don't Love Their Culture?

“Ma’am, wearing batik feels like going to a wedding.”

I smiled when a freshman said that after I asked them about batik.

The sentence was simple, even sounding humorous. However, upon reflection, it hides a serious question regarding the relationship between the younger generation and their culture.

Do young people today not like batik?

Not necessarily.

When I tried to dig deeper with several urban youths, the answers were quite diverse.

Some said they are comfortable wearing batik. Especially now that batik has undergone modernization in terms of cutting, color, and styling, allowing it to be used as an everyday outfit. For them, wearing batik is not just about clothing, but also a way to express themselves while preserving culture.

However, others said they feel uncomfortable wearing batik because it feels “too busy with patterns.” They still respect batik as a cultural heritage and local wisdom, but personally, they prefer batik with specific motifs and designs that match their fashion sense.

Interestingly, the issue is not always about “liking or disliking batik.”

The issue might be:

“What kind of batik feels like me?”

When Culture Meets Personal Taste

In daily life, clothing is not just an object that covers the body.

Clothing is also part of how someone presents themselves to others.

We choose certain colors, models, motifs, materials, and styles because they all relate to how we want to feel and appear as ourselves.

Therefore, when a young person says, “I like batik, but not all batik is comfortable for me to wear,” we shouldn't rush to conclude that they don't appreciate culture.

In fact, that might be where the process of personal appropriation of culture takes place: someone is trying to find a form of culture that can fit into their life.

Batik is no longer just understood as something that “must be worn because it is Indonesian.”

Batik is beginning to be negotiated with taste, identity, lifestyle, work, social environment, and even fashion trends.

For some young people, batik might be a formal shirt.

For others, batik can appear in the form of an outer, skirt, jacket, dress, accessory, or everyday clothing with contemporary designs.

In fact, perhaps one day we will see batik in forms that haven't been thought of today.

And that is precisely where culture shows that it is alive.

Koentjaraningrat: Culture is Not an Inanimate Object

Koentjaraningrat in Kebudayaan, Mentalitas dan Pembangunan discusses culture as something related to human value systems, norms, attitudes, and ways of life.

Culture does not stand outside of humans. It is present in human life and shapes how humans think and act.

Therefore, if we talk about preserving batik, the question is not enough to be:

“Do young people still wear batik?”

We need to ask further:

“How is batik present in the lives of young people?”

Because culture that is only kept in a museum can indeed be remembered. However, living culture requires humans who continue to use it, give it meaning, and pass it on.

UNESCO, when designating Indonesian Batik as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, did not describe batik merely as a piece of cloth.

UNESCO emphasized the techniques, symbolism, knowledge, and cultural practices surrounding it. Batik is also said to be related to the identity and continuity of the lives of the Indonesian people.

In other words, what is inherited is not just the motif, but also its meaning.

Fuad Hassan: Culture is Part of Life

Fuad Hassan's thoughts also help us see this issue more broadly.

In Renungan Budaya, Fuad Hassan discusses culture not only as a realm of art and literature, but as something related to various fields of human life.

The book even contains thoughts on “cultural efforts,” the relationship between culture and education, and the encounter of culture with the development of science and technology.

This is important for understanding the younger generation today.

They live in a cultural situation that is different from the previous generation.

They grow up with the internet, social media, globalization, fast fashion, streetwear, K-pop, Japanese fashion, Western fashion, and various forms of visual expression that move very quickly.

In conditions like this, Indonesian culture cannot just be taught by saying:

“This is our culture. You must like it.”

A more productive question is:

“How can our culture continue to find a place in their lives?”

Markus and Kitayama: Being Yourself While Being Part of a Group

This is where the cross-cultural psychology thoughts of Hazel Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama become interesting.

In their classic article, Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation (1991), Markus and Kitayama explain the differences in how humans construct themselves in a cultural context.

They conceptually distinguish between independent self-construal and interdependent self-construal. In many Asian cultural contexts, the self is understood more strongly in its connection to others and social relationships.

However, humans are not just social beings.

They also want to have uniqueness.

They want to say:

“This is me.”

Therefore, it is not surprising that the younger generation wants to remain part of Indonesian culture, but at the same time express their individuality.

On one hand:

“I am Indonesian. I appreciate batik.”

On the other hand:

“But I don't like all batik motifs.”

Both things do not have to conflict.

In fact, they might be working simultaneously.

“I Like Batik, but This One Isn't Me”

Imagine a young person choosing dark-colored batik with minimalist motifs because it fits their minimalist outfitstyle.

Another student chooses bright-colored batik because they feel more expressive.

Others choose contemporary batik because they don't want to look too formal.

Some like classic batik.

Some feel traditional motifs are too busy.

Others only want to use batik if the design is combined with a modern style.

Is it wrong?

Not necessarily.

These choices can be read as a process where someone is looking for a meeting point between cultural identity and personal identity.

Batik is still present.

But the way of owning it is different.

And perhaps this is one form of cultural inheritance that we need to understand in the current generation.

Don't Let Batik Just Become a “Uniform”

There is one thing we need to be wary of.

If batik is too often introduced to the younger generation only as mandatory clothing for certain events, ceremonies, Fridays, meetings, or weddings, it is very likely that certain associations will emerge.

Batik becomes formal clothing.

Batik becomes old people's clothing.

Batik becomes office clothing.

Batik becomes wedding clothing.

Not because the batik is not interesting, but because the social context in which batik is introduced helps shape its psychological meaning.

In fact, UNESCO notes that batik is also used in daily life, including in business and academic environments, in addition to various ceremonies and celebrations.

So, perhaps the problem is not how to make young people “forced to love batik.”

The problem is how to give them more experiences with batik.

From “Must Wear” to “Want to Own”

This is where education plays an important role.

It is not enough for young people to just be given the knowledge that batik is a cultural heritage.

They need to experience the culture.

They can meet batik artisans.

They can learn the stories behind a motif.

They can try making patterns.

They can visit batik centers.

They can discuss with young designers.

They can create content about batik.

They can develop contemporary designs.

They can also connect batik with technology.

UNESCO even notes the existence of batik education and training programs in Pekalongan that involve school students to polytechnics as a practice of protecting cultural heritage.

The program was born, among other things, from the concern that the younger generation's interest in batik could decline, while also aiming to increase the knowledge, appreciation, and skills of the younger generation.

This means that cultural education is not just providing information.

It is a process of making culture something that can be experienced and inherited.

Batik Can Change, As Long As It Doesn't Lose Its Story

We may need to accept one reality.

The batik worn by young people 20 years from now may not look exactly like the batik worn by our parents today.

And that does not automatically mean our culture is lost.

Culture does indeed undergo change.

UNESCO itself states that Indonesian batik continues to develop without losing its traditional meaning.

Therefore, the modernization of batik should not be viewed as a threat.

Cutting that is more modern, colors that are more diverse, simpler designs, or the use of batik in everyday style can be a way for the new generation to feel:

“This is still my culture, but I can use it in my own way.”

The challenge is to ensure that modernization does not break the connection with the knowledge and meaning that are its roots.

So, Do Young People Still Love Batik?

Perhaps the question needs to be changed.

Not:

“Do young people still love batik?”

But:

“In what form do young people want to own batik?”

Because from the answers of several urban youths I met, it appears that their relationship with batik is not as simple as liking or disliking it.

Some are comfortable.

Some are less comfortable.

Some like certain motifs.

Some like modern designs.

Some still appreciate batik even though they don't wear it often.

And some still consider it clothing for going to weddings or special occasions.

All these answers actually give us material for dialogue.

Because cultural preservation does not always mean maintaining old ways exactly.

Sometimes, preservation actually means giving the new generation the opportunity to find their own way of loving something that has been passed down to them.

Today, October 2nd, we might wear batik again.

It's okay if our choice of motifs is different.

It's okay if our styles are different.

It's okay if some choose classic batik and others choose contemporary batik.

The important thing is that we don't stop at the cloth attached to the body.

We try to understand the story behind it.

Because, in the end, culture does not live because we wear it one day a year.

Culture lives when the next generation still feels that the culture has a place in their lives.

And perhaps, one day, when a student says:

“Ma’am, wearing batik feels like going to a wedding,”

we don't need to rush to refute it.

We just need to ask:

“In that case, what kind of batik makes you feel, ‘this is so me’?”

Perhaps from that answer, the future of batik is just beginning.

Bibliography

Hassan, F. (1993). Renungan budaya. Balai Pustaka.

Koentjaraningrat. (2008). Kebudayaan, mentalitas dan pembangunan. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224

UNESCO. (2009). Indonesian Batik. Intangible Cultural Heritage.

UNESCO. (2009). Education and training in Indonesian Batik intangible cultural heritage for elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic students, in collaboration with the Batik Museum in Pekalongan.

About the Author

Rahmah Hastuti, S.Psi., M.Psi., Psychologist is a doctoral student in the Psychology Program at Atma Jaya University, Jakarta, and a permanent lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, Tarumanagara University.