The making of a national icon: Narratives of batik in Indonesia

Abstract

Batik is closely associated with Indonesia, and it has gradually become both an icon of Indonesia and an expression of Indonesian identity. How this came about is investigated in this article by adopting a descriptive approach and involving the idea of a tipping point, which refers to a crucial juncture at which a small change can lead to a significant and irreversible effect. This study focused on specific narratives about batik and Indonesia, formed and sustained in people’s minds, subject to historical change. By identifying important junctures within these narratives, we systematically identified the possible motives, potential effects, feedback loops, enabling circumstances, key actors, and interventions that generated crucial and irreversible changes, i.e. tipping points. Our study revealed that batik’s contemporary place in Indonesian society is the outcome of a process that began in the late 19th century, but with roots dating to events much further back in time, which in retrospect turned out to be crucial tipping points. Identifying tipping points and exploring processes both towards and following them proved an effective way to understand the long and complex story of Indonesian batik’s journey to becoming a national symbol. Small changes indeed can have a big impact.