Kebaya

The term "kebaya" believed was derived from Arabic loanword kaba or qaba which means "clothing",[4][5] the term is probably related to the Arabic word abaya (عباءة) which means cloak or loose garment. The term was then introduced into the archipelago through Portuguese intermediary loanword cabaya.[6][7]

Young Kartini with her family. Here shown kebaya worn by the women of 19th century Javanese aristocracy.

The earliest form of Kebaya believed was originates in the court of the 15th century Javanese Majapahit Kingdom, as a means to blend the existing female kemban, torso wrap of the aristocratic women, to be more modest and acceptable. Prior to Islamic influence, Javanese already recognised several term to describe clothings, such as kulambi (clothes), sarwul (pants), and ken (kain or long fabric wrapped around the waist).[6] During the last period of Majapahit kingdom, Islamic influence began to grow in coastal Javanese towns, thus there was a need to adapt the Javanese fashion to the newly adopted Islam religion. The tailored blouse, often made from delicate sheer fabrics, were worn over kemban torso wrap to cover the back, shoulders and arms, in order for court ladies to appear more modest. The adoption of a more modest fashion was attributed to the Islamic influence upon the archipelago.[6] Aceh, Riau and Johor Kingdoms and Northern Sumatra adopted the Javanese style kebaya as a means of social expression of status with the more alus or refined Javanese overlords.[8]

The name of Kebaya as a particular clothing type was noted by the Portuguese when they landed in Indonesia. Kebaya is associated with a type of blouse worn by Indonesian women in 15th or 16th century. Prior to 1600, kebaya on Java island were considered as a reserved clothing to be worn only by royal family, aristocrats (bangsawan) and minor nobility, in an era when peasant men and many women walked publicly bare-chested.

An elderly Sundanese woman wearing simple kebaya, kain batik and batik headcloth, West Java.

Later on, the kebaya also being adopted by commoners, the peasant women in Java. Up until this day in rural agricultural villages of Java, farmer women still uses simple kebaya, especially among elderly women. The everyday kebaya worn by peasant were of simple materials and secured with simple pin or peniti (safety pin).

Slowly it naturally spread to neighbouring areas through trade, diplomacy and social interactions to Malacca, Bali, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Sultanate of Sulu and Mindanao.[9][10][11] Javanese kebaya as known today were noted by Stamford Raffles in 1817, as being of silk, brocade and velvet, with the central opening of the blouse fastened by brooches, rather than button and button-holes over the torso wrap kemben, the kain — an unstitched wrap fabric several metres long, erroneously termed sarong in English (a sarung, Malaysian accent: sarong) which is stitched to form a tube.

The earliest photographics evidence of the kebaya as known today date from 1857 of Javanese, Peranakan and Oriental styles.[8] By the last quarter of the 19th century, kebaya had been adopted as the preferred women's fashion of the tropical Dutch East Indies, either worn by native Javanese, European colonials and Indos, also Chinese Peranakans.[12]

After hundreds of years of regional acculturation, the garments have become highly localised expressions of ethnic culture, artistry and tailoring traditions.

By 2019, there is a surge of kebaya popularity among modern Indonesian women. At MRT Station in Jakarta, a number of kebaya enthusiasts campaigned to promote kebaya as everyday fashion for work as well as for casual clothing on weekend. The movement sought to make wearing kebaya the norm among Indonesian women.[2]

Javanese kebaya black silk secured with kerongsang brooch, and kain batik as skirt

The quintessential kebaya is the Javanese kebaya as known today is essentially unchanged as noted by Raffles in 1817.[13][14] It consists of the blouse (kebaya) of cotton, silk, lace, brocade or velvet, with the central opening of the blouse fastened by a central brooch (kerongsang) where the flaps of the blouse meet, wore over kain.

Kebaya blouse

The kebaya blouse is commonly semi-transparent and traditionally worn over the torso wrap or kemben. Kebaya blouse can be tailored tight-fitting or loose-fitting, made from various materials, from cotton or velvet, to fine silk, exquisite lace and brocade, decorated with stitching or glittering sequins.

Undergarments

Because many of kebaya fabrics are made of fine, sheer and semi-transparent materials, there is a need to wear undergarments beneath to cover the breasts for modesty purpose. Traditionally, Javanese women wearing kemben torso wrap beneath their kebaya. Today however, the undergarment use under kebaya usually either corset, bra or camisole with matching colour. The more simple and modest undergarment wore by common village women, usually elderly women, is called kutang, which is a bra-like undergarment made from cotton.

Kerongsang brooch

Traditional kebaya had no buttons down the front. To secure the blouse openings in the front, a decorative metal brooch is applied on the chest. It can be made from brass, iron, silver or gold, decorated with semi-precious stones. A typical three-piece kerongsang is composed of a kerongsang ibu (mother piece) that is larger and heavier than the other two kerongsang anak (child piece). Kerongsang brooch often made from gold jewelry and considered as the sign of social status of aristocracy, wealth and nobility, however for commoners and peasant women, simple and plain kebaya often only fastened with modest safety pin (peniti).

Kain sarong or skirt

Kain is a long decorated clothes wrapped around the hips, secured with rope and wore as a kind of sarong or skirt. The skirt or kain is an unstitched fabric wrap around three metres long. The term sarong in English is erroneous, the sarung (Malaysian accent: sarong) is actually stitched together to form a tube, kain is unstitched, requires a helper to dress (literally wrap) the wearer and is held in place with a string (tali), then folded this string at the waist, then held with a belt (sabuk or ikat pinggang), which may hold a decorative pocket. In Java, Bali and Sunda, the kain is commonly batik which may be from plain stamped cotton to elaborately hand-painted batik tulis embroidered silk with gold thread. In Lampung, the kain is the traditional tapis, an elaborate gold-thread embroidered ikat with small mica discs.[15] Sumatra, Flores, Lemata Timor, and other islands commonly use kain of ikat or songket. Sumba is famous for kain decorated with lau hada: shells and beads.[16]

Simple Kutubaru kebaya (square collar) worn by a Javanese woman in Yogyakarta

Collars

In the aspect of collar or neck cut, there are two main varieties; the V shaped collar (Javanese, Kartini, Balinese, and Encim or Peranakan) and the square collar cut (Kutubaru). The Sundanese and modern kebaya has U shaped collar edged with brocade and often decorated with sequins. Modern kebaya also might apply various shapes and curves of collars.

Fabrics

In fabrics aspect, the blouse known as baju kebaya may be of two main forms: the transparent or semi-transparent straighter cut blouse of Java, Bali, or the more plain and modest kebaya of Sumatra and Malaya.

Cut and fittings

In the cut aspect, two main varieties are; the more tightly tailored Java, Bali and Sunda kebaya, and the loose-fitting modest kebaya wore by more pious Muslim women, usually wore with hijab. The more Islamic compatible, a plainer and modest baju kurung is a loose-fitting, knee-length long-sleeved blouse worn in the more Muslim areas, including the former Kingdom of Johor-Riau (now Malaysia), Sumatra, Brunei and parts of coastal Borneo and Java.

Sukarno among Indonesian women in kebaya during Indonesian Women Congress 1950

In Japanese internment camps during the Second World War, Indonesian female prisoners refused to wear the western dress allocated them and instead wore kebaya as a display of nationalist and racial solidarity to separate them from fellow Chinese, Europeans and Eurasian inmates.[21]

The only woman present during Indonesia's Proclamation of Independence, Dutch-educated activist SK Trimurti, wore kebaya, cementing it as the female dress of Nationalism.

After Indonesian independence, Sukarno appointed kebaya as a national costume of Indonesian women.[19] Kebayas as the national costume of Indonesian women were often featured by Indonesian first ladies. The wives of Sukarno, Indonesian first president; Fatmawati Sukarno and Dewi Sukarno were known to wear kebaya everyday.

The 21st of April is celebrated in Indonesia as National Kartini Day where Raden Ajeng Kartini, the female suffragist and education advocate, is remembered by schoolgirls wearing traditional dress according to their region. In Java, Bali and Sunda it is the kebaya.[3]

The Suharto-era bureaucrat wives' social organisation Dharma Wanita wears a uniform of gold kebaya, with a red sash (selendang) and stamped batik pattern on the kain unique to Dharma Wanita. The late Indonesian first lady and also a minor aristocrat Tien Suharto was a prominent advocate of the kebaya.

Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri is a public champion of kebaya and wears fine red kebaya whenever possible in public forums and 2009 Presidential election debates.

Garuda Indonesia flight attendant uniform in kebaya and kain batik.

Kebaya has been one of the important parts of oriental style of clothing that heavily influenced the world of modern fashion. Lace dresses are one of the best examples of Kebaya influence.

Apart from traditional kebaya, fashion designers are looking into ways of modifying the design and making kebaya a more fashionable outfit. Casual designed kebaya can even be worn with jeans or skirts. For weddings or formal events, many designers are exploring other types of fine fabrics like laces to create a bridal kebaya.

Modern-day kebaya now incorporate modern tailoring innovations such as clasps, zippers and buttons zippers, being a much appreciated addition for ladies' that promptly need a toilet break, without requiring being literally unwrapped by a helper—to the extent the true traditional kain is near unanimously rejected. Other modern innovations have included the blouse baju kebaya worn without the restrictive kemben, and even the kebaya blouse worn with slacks or made of the fabric usually for the kain panjang. The female flight attendants of Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines also feature batik kebaya as their uniforms.

The female uniform of Garuda Indonesia flight attendants is a more authentic modern interpretation. The kebaya is designed in simple yet classic Kartini style kebaya derived from 19th century kebaya of Javanese noblewomen. The kebaya made from fire-proof cotton-polyester fabrics, with batik sarongs in parang or lereng gondosuli motif, which also incorporate garuda's wing motif and small dots represent jasmine.[22]

Currently, Indonesia is making efforts for kebaya to be recognised as a world cultural heritage to the UNESCO. Efforts including "Selasa Berkebaya" (Tuesday Kebaya) movement among Indonesian women to popularise the daily use of kebaya.[23] However, some conservative Islamic clerics have condemned the movement as a "veiled apostasy", aimed to demote the use of hijab among Indonesian Muslim women.[24] Indeed, some suggests that the kebaya-wearing movement is actually a counter-action against the increasingly conservatism and Arabization within Indonesian society, that warily saw the increase of niqab-wearing among local women.[25]

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  European child with sarong and kebaya, early 20th century
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  European woman in sarong and kebaya, early 20th century
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  Silver kebaya kerongsang pin, the Tropenmuseum collection (c. 1927)
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  Indonesian movie star Chitra Dewi in kebaya (c. 1960)
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  Hartini Sukarno in kebaya welcoming Cambodian royal couple Sihanouk and Monineath (1964)
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  Kebaya as national costume representing Indonesia in beauty pageant (2012)

Media related to Kebaya at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Tropenmuseum at Wikimedia Commons

• National costume of Indonesia
• Culture of Indonesia
• Culture of Malaysia
• Culture of Singapore
• Javanese culture
• Htaingmathein

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kebaya.

• Indonesian Textiles
• Reading The Kebaya
• Variety Indonesian Kebaya