Step 11 of 16

Rubbed with an Extract of Koedoe Root

This cloth looks predominantly brown. There is still a lot of wax in the cotton. The lines that should be white have filled up with dye. Sometimes a little red is visible, but overall it looks smudgy.

This cloth, like the last batik, is dyed with indigo, but in the next stage of the process, as the inventory card reads. It is unclear whether this next stage just consists of being rubbed with an extract of koedoe root. In the case of mengkoedoe, a wet mixture is made of the finely ground root of the morinda bush. There is no mention of any other steps to this stage. Although the cloth is best colored when the wet mixture is left on for a longer time, it will definitely damage the textile if it is left on without further treatment. That might explain the smudgy look of this cloth.