Once upon a time, in the 17th century, in Surakarta, Central Java…
It was a beautiful, silent night. Queen Kencono couldn’t hear anything but the hissing of the wind and the singing of crickets. She took a deep breath, enjoying the fragrance of roses.
King Pakubuwono III Hadiningrat* had a new, young and pretty mistress. He was delighted. So delighted that he forgot his wife. This had made the Queen felt lonely and neglected but she wasn’t able to voice her feelings. She wasn’t allowed to. She just had to accept.
Nights after nights of emptiness, longing for affection from her beloved husband, the Queen finally took a piece of plain dark cloth. Gently, she held a canting, a pen-like dipper, and dipped it into dyeing ink. She looked at the stars on the sky. So plenty of them, so bright. They twinkled as if telling the Queen to be hopeful. She sensed closeness to The Giver of Life. She prayed to The Most Merciful solemnly, then, she started to sketch the stars on the cloth.
Several days passed by. The King noticed his wife’s pursuit and he was awed by the alluring pattern she had made. It portrayed abundant of love, some hope, and a sprinkle of sadness at the same time. King’s feelings towards his wife slowly changed. Memory of past happiness suddenly struck. Affection unavoidably sprouted. The lost love willingly sparked, following the meaning of the pattern the Queen made, Truntum, which means to sprout, to be alive again.
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What a story behind the creation of truntum batik**.
Truntum, a Javanese word which comes from teruntum-tuntum, is a popular batik pattern that has become a symbol of loyalty and devotion. Besides the stars, the pattern can take shape as tiny flowers or flower buds and it is often painted on plain black or dark colored cloth.
Due to its philosophy, truntum batik is often worn for wedding ceremony. The length of time it took for Queen Kencoro to finish, the patience, love and devotion towards her husband has made truntum a perfect character for long lasting marriage.
But now, it’s common for us to wear clothes made of truntum batik. You find them wearing it at school, in the office, everywhere. I feel the fact that now people can wear it anytime, not strictly for wedding ceremony, has decreased the value of truntum batik somehow. It becomes less dignified. On the other hand, well, it’s a good thing that people can wear batik anytime anywhere, to promote our traditional culture.
*Sultan (King) of Hadiningrat dynasty in Surakarta, Centra Java
** Batik is a method (originally used in Java) of producing colored designed on textiles or fabrics by dyeing them. Batik also means a cloth or fabric that has been dyed using batik method.
*Sultan (King) of Hadiningrat dynasty in Surakarta, Centra Java
** Batik is a method (originally used in Java) of producing colored designed on textiles or fabrics by dyeing them. Batik also means a cloth or fabric that has been dyed using batik method.
