Lower garment (kain panjang)

What can a piece of clothing tell us about its wearer? In many parts of Indonesia, especially before the twentieth century, colors and styles of garments, as well as modes of wearing them, might tell you the age, marital status, social status, wealth, and even the village of the wearer. Dark blue and white batik textiles like this were worn by women in the Chinese Indonesian community, especially in times of mourning, periods which could last up to three years. They also might be worn by a bride as she left her family to move to her husband’s, symbolizing mourning for the loss of her parental home.

The white background is particularly difficult to achieve, because the entire surface needs to be covered with wax to protect the textile from absorbing the indigo dye. These blue and white batiks may have been inspired by Chinese blue-and-white ceramics.