Abandoned: A former sugar factory built in Dutch colonial style is seen in poor condition in Kencong district, Jember, East Java.

For university dropout Yohanes Setyo Hadi, saving historical objects is a way to move on from bitter memories.

Yohanes got up from his wooden chair and took down some colorful beads that he said came from the megalithic age. Many people have tried to buy them by offering various sums of money, but he refused to sell them.

“These [the beads] are not for sale. Someone gave it to me because I was asked to take care of them,” he said on Saturday at his private museum, Boemi Poeger Museum, in the Kencong district of Jember, East Java.

Then, he showed off an old and rusty dagger that he said was the legacy of the Majapahit kingdom. His neighbors found it in a rice field behind his home and they gave it to him to add to the collection in his museum.

Jember, says the man who often joins in research on history with lecturers from Jember University, is rich with historical objects, but they are mostly poorly maintained and as of now, the small city in East Java does not have a museum.

“In Yogyakarta, there are three museums run by the local government and at least 40 private museums,” said Yohanes, who was born in Jember 42 years ago.

The total number of historical objects in the city remains unclear, but there are 327 prehistoric objects, such as dolmen (lying stones) and menhir (standing stones) according Sudiono’s book, Lingkungan Masa Lampau Beberapa Situs Arkeologi di Jawa Timur dan Bali (The Past Environment of Some Archeological Sites in East Java and Bali), published in 2004.

Yohanes’ passion for preserving historical objects drove him to provide a decent place to save them. In 2014, with the permission of the Jember Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (BPCB), he used his home, measuring 54 square meters, as the Boemi Poeger Museum to display more than 30 historical objects.

“This [museum] proves that we can also make a museum with a small fund if we have the will and the spirit,” he said, expecting that his small museum, which is still far from perfect, would motivate the local government to establish its first public museum.

He regretted that the local administration neglected heritage preservation efforts and focused primarily on the city’s economic development. Many local people, he said, still have a limited understanding of heritage preservation as they still try to make money by selling historical objects, which is against the law.

Antiquarians, he recalled, often visited his museum to offer him their collections, such as old swords and jars, with high prices.

“We told them that we do not have a business-oriented mindset. If they want to donate their collections, we will accept them and promise to do our best to take care of them.”

Asked about his motivation, Yohanes answered that he just wanted to implement his knowledge after he studied history at University of Indonesia (UI) in Depok, West Java. He did not finish his studies, but remained enthusiastic about applying the theories in real life.

“Although I don’t have a bachelor’s degree, I can be beneficial for society,” he said. “And it works.”

The man who started studying at UI in 1992 was reluctant to reveal the details that caused him to dropout, saying that it would be like opening an old wound related to “an accident” that happened during a political riot in May 1998.

His friend, the historian JJ Rizal, who set up Komunitas Bambu (Bamboo Community) in Depok to help people better understand history, motivated him to make a community of the same purpose in Jember.

“At UI, we were in the same batch. We studied in the same classes and lived in the same boarding house in Depok,” he said, laughing.    

In 2012, Yohanes founded a community called Taman Baca Budaya Salam (Salam Reading Park Community) and now, it has 15 volunteers, who are mostly university students. At its headquarters, he provides free books and Wi-Fi.  

The community has collected 2,215 manuscripts about the history of Jember and throughout the city, it has found at least 75 neglected historical sites, including a Dutch colonial-style former sugar factory in Kencong, and a Deres temple in Gumukmas district, around 45 kilometers from the center of the city.

Sometimes, he was involved in trouble such as when nine local figures confronted him for doing research in Puger district, an area that was known for witchcraft.

This incident did not discourage him from spreading his love of history.

Yohanes said his community held Wayang Kardus (cardboard) puppet shows at least once a month from one place to another to bring children closer to history.

“Stories highlighted in the puppet shows are about Jember,” the father of two said, adding that the shows aimed to prevent the city’s folklore, such as Watu Ulo (Snake Stone), from disappearing.

Yohanes says his community has found 25 forms of folklore in Jember, home to 31 districts, and he believes that more forms of folklore will be discovered as they continue digging into their research.

He was over the moon after learning that the activities of his community had inspired some junior high school teachers to form a community called Sapta Prabu, which is also aimed at preserving Jember’s cultural heritage.

He says that his struggle is not over yet and he will stand on the front line of saving historical objects in his city.

“Taman Baca Budaya Salam and Boemi Poeger Museum are compensations for my [unfinished] studies,” he said.

— Photos by A. Kurniawan Ulung

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