Preserving Rifa'iyah Batik as Cultural Identity of Rifa'iyah Community

Abstract

There are various types of batik in Indonesia. One of them is Rifa’iyah batik produced by Rifa’iyah community in Kalipucang Wetan, Batang, Central Java. It gets the strong influence of Islam. It is classical batik since the motifs persist from one generation to another generation. This research focuses on the preservation of batik as the cultural identity of Rifa’iyah community. By using the paradigm of constructivism, cultural identity theory, and methods of phenomenology, the researcher intends to understand the preservation effort of batik Rifa’iyah. Data were collected based on observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation study. Data analysis was done by coding system development technique. This study found that members of the batik Rifa’iyah community still admit batik as their cultural identity. But nowadays young batik artists have increasingly reduced, so it is feared that no one will preserve batik Rifa’iyah in the future. Various efforts to maintain it among others are by forming Rifa’iyah batik maker community serving as coordinating institution, organizing batik workshop for batik makers, attending batik exhibition, opening free batik class for elementary students, and motivating teenagers to appreciate batik as their cultural heritage.