Tahu Gejrot

This is a tahu gejrot seller.



Tahu gejrot is a kind of food. It is originally from Cirebon, a city and regency about 130 kilometers to the northeast of Bandung.



It is made of fried tofu, sliced, and a souce made of garlic, challots, cabe rawit chilli pepper, sweet soy souce and other ingredients.



This is how it is served, on a small clay plate like this. It's best eaten when it's hot. Yummy!

Topeng Cirebon

This is a pair of Topeng Cirebon (Cirebonese Masks).

Topeng Cirebon is the masks and the name of a traditional dance (called Tari Topeng Cirebon) from the West Javanese area of Cirebon of which these masks are the essential attire.

At this time, I do not yet have the photos and videos of the dance. I'll post them when I do.

Pattern and Colors of Batik Cirebon (Cirebonese Batik)

Here is a close up look at Batik Cirebon's patterns and colors. These batik clothes and sarongs are displayed at the Cirebon Municipality stand at the Braga Festival last week.

I have previously posted the history of the Indonesian batik and the characteristics of Batik Cirebon (Cirebonese Batik) here.

Cirebon , by the way, is a city and regency in the northern coast of Java, about 135 kilometers to the north east of Bandung. As a coastal trading city, Cirebon has received various influences from its visitors throughout its long history (the city was officially established in 1369). These influences have created an interesting cultural melting pot, which, among others, are reflected in the designs of its batik. Its bright colors, for example, are said to have come from the Chinese influence.

Batik Cirebon is mostly produced by home industries in Trusmi, a village some 7 kilometers from its city center. That is why sometimes batik Cirebon is also called batik Trusmi.

In addition to Trusmi, there are actually two other villages that also become the centers of batik production in Cirebon. They are Karang Tengah and Kunduran. The latter has a predominantly Chinese population and, therefore, produces mostly Chinese-Indonesian style batik.

Batik Cirebon (Cirebonese Batik)

"Batik" is derived from the Javanese words of "amba" (to write) and "titik" (dots). The word "batik" refers to a painted or printed piece of cloth or fabric produced by applying wax (called "malam") that blocks dye colors to produce the desired designs and patterns.

The practice of Batik making has existed in the Indonesian archipelago for a long time. Historical records written on lontar palm leaves show that Batik making (industry?) was already thriving in the Javanese Kingdom of Majapahit (whose territory, according to a historical account, covered most of what is now the Indonesian archipelago, Singapore, Malaysia, the southern parts of Cambodia and Thailand, and the southern parts of the Philippines) in the 14th Century C.E.

There are a lot of varieties of batik in Indonesia. Among the most prominent of these are Batik Pekalongan (named after a town on the northern coast of Central Java), Batik Solo, Batik Jogja (Solo and Jogja are the names of two cities and Javanese cultural centers in the southeast part of Central Java), and Batik Cirebon (named after a coastal city in the north east of the West Java Province).

According to batik experts, Batik Cirebon is unique in that it has more multicultural characteristic in its patterns and colors than those produced in the Javanese hinterland cities like Solo and Jogja. It usually has bolder and more vibrant colors, e.g. red, blue and green, and more varieties of patterns that reflects the influences that the coastal trading post of Cirebon has received from the Moslem, Chinese, Indian, and European traders visiting this town.

The women in the photo are a family of Cirebonese batik makers who recently took part in the Kemilau Nusantara tourism and cultural exhibition in Bandung.

Text and picture by Eki Qushay Akhwan