Indonesia's Batik selected for UNESCO cultural heritage list
JAKARTA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) would add Indonesia's traditional dyeing technique to its intangible Cultural Heritage list, the Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday.
A worker sits as he makes a "blangkon", a Javanese headgear, at a house in Yogyakarta, July 27, 2009. At one time, most men in the Javanese cultural capital wore traditional batik headgear.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
The listing, which will give the age-old batik tradition some degree of protection under the UNESCO charter, will be made official at an event in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between September 28 and October 2.
"Batik is regarded as a cultural icon with its own uniqueness. It contains symbols and deep philosophy of the human life cycle --and it was submitted by Indonesia as a non-material element of cultural heritage," Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie told a press conference on Monday.
"We've been told that Batik has been recognized as an element of global cultural heritage produced by Indonesians. The president has called on all Indonesians to wear Batik on October 2 to celebrate Batik," the minister added.
Batik is a wax-resistant dyeing technique used on textiles. Due to modern advances in textile industry, the technique is also used for fabric incorporating traditional batik patterns that are not necessarily produced using traditional batik techniques.
Source : www.chinaview.cn