This motif, together with the dragon, once adorned not just the robes of Chinese emperors but also their palaces. However, scholars say the ancient pattern is an example of cultural assimilation between the Chinese and Indonesians, as the cloud motif is largely found in historical Chinese cultural expression. The people of Cirebon, a town on the northern coast of Java, view the mega mendung pattern to have been founded by their prince centuries ago. Others urged foreign designers and department stores to acknowledge the origin of batik displayed in their collections. It was one of those shocking déjà vu moments like that of a few years ago, when the renowned parang pattern was rumored to have been patented by a neighboring country.īatik makers, particularly those in Cirebon, demanded that President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and the Trade Ministry stop the claim made by Turkey. The blouse in the traditional batik cloud pattern is said to be tagged 'limited edition Turkey'. Recently, Indonesia's fashion industry and batik makers were appalled with the widely circulated photo of a mega mendung cloud-patterned blouse, sold online and offline by a leading European department store.
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