Examining The History Of Batik Giriloyo Village In Yogyakarta

Illustration of batik craftsmen in Giriloyo Village (Camille Bismonte - Unsplash)

YOGYAKARTA Kampung Batik Giriloyo is a batik handicraft center located under the foot of the Imogiri hills, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). The history of the Batik village Giriloyo is estimated to start in the 17th century.

The location of the Batik Giriloyo Village is not too far from the DIY government center. It's about 15 km or about 30 minutes of driving. In this village, you can buy original batik directly from the craftsmen.

According to the Batik Giriloyo page, there is no definite record of the history of Batik Giriloyo Village. However, batik in Giriloyo is thought to have existed since the 17th century, precisely when Sultan Agung led the Mataram Kingdom.

At that time, Sultan Agung ordered the Imogiri hilly area to be used as a tomb for kings.

At that moment, the Kraton courtiers were ordered to guard the graves of the kings, introduce and look for batik craftsmen around Imogiri.

This is because many activities and traditional ceremonies of Kraton Mataram have to use batik. Finally. Many Giriloyo residents were finally taught to batik because their area was not far from the tomb of King Imogiri.

Over time, Giriloyo Village turned into a batik handicraft center. In the early days, the Giriloyo people only sold semi-finished batik in batik skippers in the city center of Jogja. However, now they are proficient in marketing their own products.

Decades of routines as batik craftsmen, the people of Giroloyo slumped after the DIY area was rocked by an earthquake on 27 May 2006 ago. This natural disaster makes all batik centers in the area go out of business.

Fortunately, this condition did not last long. They managed to recover from adversity after assistance from various parties, ranging from the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to the government. The people of Giriloyo were taught the process of producing batik from upstream to downstream.

Selain itu, masyaraka Kampung Batik Giriloyo juga mendapatkan pelatihan cara dan strategi pemasaran batik tulis, sehingga produk mereka bisa dikenal masyarakat luas.

On May 27, 2007, the people of Giriloyo took a batik action on a 1,200 meter long cloth. The action managed to break the record of the Indonesian Record Museum (MURI).

This action is also a milestone for the community to re-develop batik. Batik craftsmen in Giriloyo Village produce batik written with the classic Mataram pattern, such as Sido Asih, Wahyu Tumurun, Sido Mukti, Sido Luhur, Parang, to Kawung.

Currently, the number of batik craftsmen in Giriloyo Village has reached 540 people. they use natural ingredients and chemicals to color batik.

For marketing, batik craftsmen take advantage of online and offline systems. The online system uses websites and social media. Meanwhile, offline use exhibitions.

The price of writing batik sold in Giriloyo village is very diverse, depending on the motive, starting from Rp. 500,000 to millions of rupiah per sheet.

This is information about the history of Kampung Batik Giriloyo. Hopefully this article can add insight to the loyal readers of VOI.ID.