Tengger is the name of an area in the highlands of Mount Bromo. The people of Tengger still adhere to the traditional values which are manifested in the implementation of traditional ceremonies, such as the Karo, Kasada, and other ceremonies. Besides, the community also has the main source of income from the plantation and agricultural sector.
The people of Tengger have a lot of local wisdom, tourist attractions, and abundant human resources, which are, unfortunately, not perfectly explored. The lack of documentation of Tenggerese legends in a concrete form and a large number of researches on Tenggerese culture without the implementation and actualization of the history and tradition of Tengger were taken into consideration by the team of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB) through the Student Community Service Creative Program (PKM-M), supervised by Dr. Sony Sukmawan, M.Pd., and chaired by Mifta Nur Aini, chose to respond Tenggerese legend through the creation of batik motifs.
In this program, the team collaborates with Bala Daun, a community that cares for the environment, nature, and culture conservation in Tengger. This program begins with the process of collecting data with the resource person, Karyadi, who is also an environmental activist in Tengger.
The data from the excavation that has been collected are then selected so that three legends have the potential to be visualized in batik motifs. The three legends are The Origins of Tosari Village, Wono Sekar, and Jimat Klontong. In the process, the batik motifs as the visualization of these legends apply natural dyes to prevent pollution due to the waste from synthetic dyes.
Because of the current pandemic conditions, this community service program cannot be carried out offline. This program is then conducted online, including guidebooks composition, video production of batik motifs creation based on the legends, batik printing, and batik handicrafts production, and product marketing design.
It is hoped that the creation of the motifs inspired by Tenggerese legends will be a medium to preserve the intangible culture of Tengger, supporting the industry of the national-scale tourism sector, and providing economic value to the community. [DTS]