' (

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners ...

: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

-like tool used to apply liquid hot

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...

( jv, ) in the

batik Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...

-making process in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, more precisely '' batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional ''Tjanting'' consists of copper wax-container with small pipe spout and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

handle. Traditional ''tjanting'' is made of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, bronze, zinc or iron material, however modern version might use

teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...

Etymology

Using canting to create batik (10684550014)

' is derived from Javanese word of ''canthing'' (

: ) which means the small scooping tool.

History

''Canting'' is originated in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and invented by the Javanese, it is believed to be invented since 12th century. G. P. Rouffaer reported that the ''gringsing''

pattern was already known by the 12th century in Kediri,

East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...

. He concluded that this delicate pattern could only be created by the ''canting'', an etching tool that holds a small reservoir of hot wax. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van twee Javaanse batiksters TMnr 60027241

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van twee Javaanse batiksters TMnr 60027241

Design

A ''canting'' consists of: # ''Nyamplung'': a rounded liquid wax container, made from copper. # ''Cucuk'' (

:): a small copper pipe or spout that connects to ''nyamplung'' container, it is where the liquid wax comes out to be applied to the cloth. # ''Gagang'': ''canting'' holder, usually made from bamboo or wood. The size of ''canting'' may be varied according to the desired dot size or line thickness to be applied to the cloth. A

craftsperson uses ''canting'' in a similar fashion as drawing using a pen.

Types

There are three ways of classifying the types of ''canting'': # Based on its function: ## ''Canting'' ''Rengrengan'': ''canting'' that is ideally used to make a

pattern for the first time. ## ''Canting'' ''Isen'': ''canting'' that is ideally used to fill a pattern that has been made beforehand. # Based on the diameter of its ''cucuk'': ## Small ''Canting'': ''canting'' that has a small-sized ''cucuk'' with a diameter of less than 1 millimeter and is usually used as ''Canting Isen''. ## Medium ''Canting'': ''canting'' that has a medium-sized ''cucuk'' with a diameter of 1 – 2.5 millimeters and is usually used as ''Canting Rengrengan''. ## Large ''Canting'': ''canting'' with a large-sized ''cucuk'' with a diameter of more than 2.5 millimeters and is usually used to make a larger batik pattern or to fill a pattern that has been made beforehand with a block of wax. # Based on the number of its ''cucuk'': ## ''Canting'' ''Cecekan'': ''canting'' with one ''cucuk''. ## ''Canting'' ''Laron/Loron'': ''canting'' with two ''cucuk''. ## ''Canting'' ''Telon'': ''canting'' with three ''cucuk'' that forms an

equilateral triangle In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, an equilateral triangle is also equiangular; that is, all three internal angles are also congruent to each othe ...

. ## ''Canting'' ''Prapatan'': ''canting'' with four ''cucuk'' that forms a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...

. ## ''Canting'' ''Liman'': ''canting'' with five ''cucuk'' that forms a square with a dot in the center of the square. ## ''Canting'' ''Byok'': ''canting'' with an odd number of ''cucuk'' and is equal to or more than seven ''cucuk'' that forms a

circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

with a dot in the center of the circle. ## ''Canting'' ''Renteng/Galaran'': ''canting'' with four or six ''cucuk'' that forms two

parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of ...

lines.

Technique

Firstly, the cloth must be washed, soaked and beaten with a large mallet. The hot and liquid wax is scooped from small ''wajan'' (

wok A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...

) heated upon small stove. The batik craftsperson sometimes blow the spout tip of ''canting'' to allow the liquid wax to flow smoothly and to avoid clogging, then they draw the line or dot upon the cloth, applying the liquid wax, following the patterns and images that previously had been drawn using

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

. A pattern is then drawn with hot wax called ''malam'' using ''canting''. The wax functions as a dye-resist. After this, the cloth is dipped in a dye bath containing the first colour. After the cloth is dry, the wax is removed by scraping or boiling the cloth. This process is repeated as many times as the number of colours desired. For larger areas of cloth which need to be covered, the wax is applied using a tool called tonyok ''nemboki/mopoki''.Batik Nomination for inscription on the Representative List in 2009 (Reference No. 00170) Batik worker, Mulyati (10676778135)

References