Cultural ties between RI and Dutch grow as exhibit opens

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 06/09/2009 10:47 AM  |  National

Treasure of Sumatra: Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Nikolaos Van Dam (second left) and Volkenkunde Museum of Leiden director Steven Engelsman (left) listen to the National Museum’s Ekowati, at the opening of an exhibition titled “Treasure of Sumatra” in Jakarta on Monday. The exhibition, which depicts the development of various cultures in Sumatra, runs until Sept. 8, 2009. The exhibition will later be held in Leiden from October until December, before moving to Singapore next year. JP/J. Adiguna

"For anyone committing bad deeds, showing disobedience and disloyalty to the king, then bad luck will fall upon them.," reads text written upon the Kota Kapur inscription at the National Museum in Central Jakarta.

Named after the location it was found - Kota Kapur village in Bangka Island - the message is inscribed in ancient Malay and dates back to the 7th Century, when the great Sriwijaya Kingdom ruled over Sumatra.

The inscription also provides important information about Sriwijaya's attempts to conquer the island of Java.

Historic inscriptions, maps, manuscripts, statues, Chinese ceramics and sultanate regalia, all originated from the past kingdoms of Sumatra, will remain on display from Monday until Sep. 8. at the museum.

Currencies from the former Aceh kingdom of Samudera Pasai, along with royal swords and keris, a sultanate oar, traditional musical instruments, dresses and miniature versions of traditional Sumatran houses (such as the Rumah Gadang, Batak Karo and Nias varieties) also feature in the exhibit.

Some artefacts even date back to the prehistoric era, such as kjokkenmodinger (cooking waste) from the Megalithic period and fragments of earthenware pottery and household relics from the Neolithic period.

The collections demonstrate how the ancient traditions of Sumatra were heavily influenced by foreign cultures such as the Chinese, Indian, Arabic and Persian, as well as neighboring local cultures like those from the Javanese kingdoms.

Head of the National Museum, Retno Sulistianingsih, said in her speech marking the opening of the Treasures of Sumatra exhibition that the museum would be displaying a total of 230 pieces in the collection. They are owned by the museum, heritage agencies in Sumatra and the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands.

"The reason we are promoting the theme of Sumatra in this exhibition is because the province has a lot of stories to tell.

Besides being located strategically along the trade routes between Persia, India and China, Sumatra was rich in natural resources and important commodities during the ancient period, including camphor and gold," Retno said.

Culture and Tourism Minister, Jero Wacik, said in his opening speech that cooperation between Indonesian and Dutch museums was expected to grow as they work together on other exhibitions in the future.

After September, the "Treasures of Sumatra" exhibition will move to the Netherlands before arriving in Singapore next year.

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