The Popular Beautiful Blue INDIGO BATIK
Batik lovers are certainly familiar with indigo blue batik, which is called indigo batik, tarum batik, or tom batik. The term indigo batik itself is actually more of a coloring method that uses natural dyes, which is indigofera tinctoria. The color obtained through the process of fermenting the leaves of the indigo tree, or indigo, tarum, and tom in Indonesian, for a certain time. The leaves that produce a dark blue color, commonly called wedelan. This Indigofera tinctoria plant is a small shrub up to 1 meter high, with flowers up to 5 milimeters long, pods straight or slightly bent, containing 7-12 seeds.
The natural blue color of Indigofera tinctoria penetrates deeply into the batik fabric, so it has high color resistance. The way of coloring using natural dyes has always been maintained by traditional craftsmen to maintain the noble tradition of batik, also because of the better color resistance to other chemicals such as acidic detergents or because of exposure to sunlight for a long time.
Tilapia is native to tropical Asia, which later spread to temperate regions. The name Indigo, or Indian Indigo comes from English. In the Philippines, this plant is called tagung-tagung, talom, or tailung, while in Malaysia it is called tarom or indigo. Other names in the area of distribution are kraam atrau na-kho (Thailand), cham (Vietnam), basma (Iran and the former Soviet Union countries).
Blue Intido Batik with Many Benefits
In general, indigofera is widely used as a source of blue dye. But apparently not only that, these species are also recommended to be planted as cover crops and as green manure, especially in tea, coffee and rubber plantations. Even the leaves of Indigofera arrecta and Indigofera tinctoria are used in traditional medicine. Squeeze the leaves when mixed with betel and young areca nut can be used as a param rub on bruises. If mixed with onion liquid, it is used as an anthelmintic in children. The juice of the leaves when mixed with honey can relieve people with liver disease and epilepsy, while the juice of the roots acts as an antidote to arsenic poisoning. Tilapia leaves are also commonly used as medicine to heal skin wounds, such as wounds from insect bites, itching, and even wounds from scorpion bites.
Grows Outdoor
Indigofera species can grow from 0 meters to 1,650 meters above sea level, and thrive in loose soil rich in organic matter. As a dye-producing plant, indigofera is grown in the highlands and as a secondary crop in paddy fields, with well-drained land.
Indigofera tinctoria does not tolerate high rainfall and flooding. In a state of natural growth, tilapia species are found in open places with full sun, such as abandoned lands, roadsides, riverbanks, and meadows, sometimes up to an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level. In general, the natives people plant indigo on dry land, as well as in rice fields as secondary crops after the rice harvest.
Cultivated Since the 16th Century
Indigofera cultivation began in the 16th century in India and Southeast Asia. Later, large plantations also grew this plant in Central America and the southern United States. The commercial production of synthetic tarum, which began in 1897, proved to be harmful to natural tarum production, and by 1914 only 4% of all world production came from vegetable dyes. Today, tarum plants are still cultivated for coloring purposes, but only on a small scale, namely in India (in the northern part of Karnataka) and in some parts of Africa and Central America. In Indonesia Indigofera is still cultivated in several northern coastal villages and throughout eastern Indonesia, where it is used to dye traditional fabrics and fabrics for traditional ceremonies.
The history of indigo batik is around 2500 years BC, indigo blue was used to color the clothes of kings or emperors or princes to show their power, leadership, loyalty, and wisdom. Since ancient times, the people from the island of Java have also known and always used dyes that come from nature with the aim that a work of art in the form of indigo batik cloth blends the philosophy contained in the batik motif with nature. Several types of colors from natural dyes such as pareanom are color synergy between yellow and green, Bangun Tulak (blue-white), Coconut Sugar (red-white), and Banteng Ketaton (red-black).
Indigo batik motifs have been poured into batik fabrics such as machetes, truntum, sidomukti, and several other types of ancient batik and are still being developed for contemporary motifs
1. Making of Indigofera Pasta
To make 1 kg of pasta, choose fresh Indigo leaves (approximately 7-9 kg)
Soak fresh indigo leaves in water for 2 days
Strain the resulting solution, pour it into a different tub/bucket
Enter the lime water, then carry out the aeration process or it can be done by taking the solution with a dipper and then pouring the solution back into the bucket from a height to cause foam. This aeration process is carried out until the foam created disappears, and the green solution turns blue.
Again, leave the blue solution created for one day until a dark blue precipitate is created
Discard the clear solution above, take the blue precipitate at the bottom which has become Indigo Paste.
2. Making Dye Solution from Paste
The Indigo paste that is formed is ready to be used for coloring, the method is as follows:
Mix 1 kg of indigo paste with 5 liters of water, dissolve
Add Lime and Javanese Sugar / Palm Sugar / Legen Sugar, with a ratio of 1:1 or it could be 2:1, depending on the experiment and the direction of the resulting color.
Note: The sugar is dissolved first by boiling it with enough water
Leave the solution for half a day (approximately 12 hours) until the solution turns green.
Indigo solution is ready to be used for dyeing/dyeing fabrics.
Materials: from various sources, Instruction Brochure "Coloring Batik with Natural Indigo Coloring Substance" product of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, Center for Crafts and Batik Yogyakarta (2010)
