IBU MUTAROSATUN — JARIK RELAWATI NAGA PAKSI

Ibu Mutarosatun
Born 1972, Batang, Indonesia

JARIK RELAWATI NAGA PAKSI (2025)
100% Cotton, synthetic dyes
Hand-drawn wax resist on machine-woven cotton
242 x 104 cm

Bolder and more folk in spirit than most Rifa’iyah batik, this jarik is steeped in ancient mythology.

Less ornate than typical Rifa’iyah work, Ibu Mutarosatun’s work has a spacious, dreamlike quality — a star-scattered field from which mythical creatures emerge with striking directness.

At the heart of the cloth, four figures take shape that resemble naga paksi — mythical creatures combining the sinuous body of a serpent (naga) with the wings of a great bird (paksi, from the Sanskrit pakshi). These composite beings have ancient roots in the Hindu-Buddhist civilisations that shaped Java for more than a millennium before the arrival of Islam: the naga was a dragon-like creature of water and earth, the great bird a creature of sky and heaven, and their union a bridge between the two realms. Traces of the naga paksi endure in wayang performance, temple reliefs and Javanese visual culture — a thread of pre-Islamic memory carried quietly within living tradition.

Here, the figures are rendered in the samaran style, their forms constructed entirely from lancur and other botanical arrangements — leaves, fronds and curling stems. This is the Rifa’iyah Sufi principle at work: living creatures must not be shown in their entirety unless the artist is willing to imbue it with her soul. That an ancient mythological form from Java's pre-Islamic past is given expression through this Islamic artistic discipline speaks to a distinctive quality of the Rifa’iyah community — a willingness to honour and carry forward the cultural heritage of their ancestors, while remaining steadfast in their Islamic principles and faith.

Each figure emerges from a lavish buketan (bouquet) of vibrant roses — a hallmark of north coast Javanese batik shaped by centuries of both Chinese and European influence. The background is scattered with tabur bintang (stars), evoking the celestial realm and the cosmos as a sign of divine creation.

Ibu Mutarosatun (Ibu Satun)

Ibu Satun started making small selendang-sized batik at the age of only eight. She is happy to create bold, unusual pieces as well as more elegant and refined ones, and loves working in tiga negeri and relawati styles.