IBU NANDIROH, SELENDANG DLORONGAN

Ibu Nandiroh
Born 1967, Batang, Indonesia

SELENDANG DLORONGAN TIGA NEGERI (2025)
100% Cotton, synthetic dyes
Hand-drawn wax resist on machine-woven cotton
234 x 50cm

Worn not only as fashion but also to carry goods and cradle babies, the selendang shoulder cloth occupies a unique place in Javanese domestic and ceremonial life.

Made in the tiga negeri (three nations) colourway, the wax motifs were applied to the selendang three times over, once for each dye bath, a process of extraordinary patience and technical precision. Traditionally the colours were each sourced from a different centre of Javanese batik production: red from Lasem, blue from Pekalongan, and brown from Solo.

The cloth is in the dlorong style, a Rifa’iyah motif characterised by thick diagonal running bands, each filled with a different repeating botanical or geometric element.

The foreground is animated by abstracted birds interwoven with flowers and foliage. Three peacock-like figures rise upward from young plants — their bodies, wings and plumage constructed from leaves inspired by different plant species, in keeping with the samaran principle. Abstracted butterfly and insect-like forms drift as petals and leaves between the floral arrangements, speaking to the interconnectedness of all living forms.

Each band of the dlorongan is filled with fine botanical isen-isen (fill motifs) including a design inspired by polong kedawung, the distinctive elongated pods of Parkia timoriana, whose antioxidant-rich seeds are valued in traditional Javanese medicine, alongside ukelan (hook-like curling forms) and sisik (overlapping fish scales), the latter evoking the coastal world of Java’s north shore from which Rifa’iyah batik emerges.

The ends of the selendang — the kepala or head sections — feature tumpal and pelaraan motifs. The tumpal, a row of upward-pointing triangles, symbolises creation, cosmic order and the sacred mountain peaks where earthly and spiritual realms converge; they are a prayer that the cloth and its wearer will always be moving upward, toward the light. The pelaraan fill motif (sweeping coconut palm fronds) invokes the ceremonial fronds used at Javanese weddings and blessings, carrying associations of protection, prosperity and the sweeping away of misfortune.

The vertical side panels are bordered with a delicate chain of kembang sirih, the slender flower spikes of the betel vine. Along the horizontal edges, blooming vines build layers of botanical protection that encircle the entire cloth and, by extension, its wearer.

Ibu Nandiroh

Born and raised in Batang, Ibu Nandiroh learned to batik at the age of twelve from her mother, as a tradition passed down through the generations as living, intergenerational practice. She has gone on to become one of the few remaining dye-masters in the village, undertaking dyeing work for many other batik producers using a body of technical knowledge that is increasingly scarce. In her own batik she often employs bold, striking combinations — red and black, red and blue — and while she can produce a wide variety of motifs, she prefers the freedom and fluidity of more feminine Relawati designs.

I have been making batik since I was a child. I hope Batik Rifaiyah continues to thrive and always maintains its high quality.

Ibu Nandiroh, Batang, June 2026