Alas and Gunung: Their Representation in the Javanese Traditional Batik

Abstract

Alas-alasan is one of the traditional Javanese batik motifs. Motifs that represent the phenomena of alas (forest) and gunung (mount) are not only belonging to the royal palace batik vocabulary, but also to the one found outside the palace. For the Javanese, alas and gunung are two important sites. In the Javanese political phenomena, alas is where the forerunner of establishment Javanese palace. At the same time, it is believed that gunung is the center of cosmic balance, as the nail of the world. That is why alas becomes an inspiration of aesthetic creation whose expression can be found in a variety of artifacts by using a variety of media. In addition to representing the alas, Alas-alasan motifs are also understood as representation of gunung in which various types of animals are depicted in it. This is understandable, because the alas is mostly located in gunung and hill areas as habitat for various wildlife. Among various existing types of ornamental motifs, representation of alas in the traditional Javanese batik motif known as Alas-alasan shows different depiction techniques. In addition, among Alas-alasan motif in the traditional Javanese batik at different regions, there is a different delineation as well.

Keyword: Alas, gunung, Alas-alasan , motif, batik, Java