Multatuli Museum (Indonesia)
History
Discussions about opening a Multatuli Museum in Rangkasbitung began in the 2010s, with the support of Bonnie Triyana, a historian with roots in the area, as well as teacher Ubaidilah Muchtar, architect Bambang Eryudhawan, and Tempo journalist Kurie Suditomo. Multatuli, whose real name was Edward Douwes Dekker, was a Dutch colonial official who was Assistant Resident in Lebak for a brief period in 1856 before he clashed with his superiors and returned to Europe. Some of the injustices of the colonial society that he witnessed there were portrayed in his famous novel Max Havelaar.
The museum was opened in February 2018; it is operated by Lebak Regency, the local district-level government. It is located in a 1923 building off Rangkasbitung Square that had originally been the office of the Wedana (a type of colonial official). Although the museum is not officially affiliated with the Multatuli Museum in Amsterdam, it did receive collection items from that museum in preparation for opening. The museum attempts to incorporate the sensory experience of export products such as coffee to immerse the visitor in the nineteenth-century plantation economy portrayed by Multatuli, as well as examining colonial history and the publication of Multatuli's novel. The museum also contains sculptures of Multatuli and characters from the novel by sculptor Dolorosa Sinaga. In its inaugural year, the museum also hosted a cultural festival (Indonesian: Festival Seni Multatuli). The museum was forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened in early 2022.
References
- ^ "Museum Multatuli Rangkasbitung, Destinasi Wisata yang kaya akan Sejarah | Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi Banten". Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi Banten (in Indonesian). Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Kabupaten Lebak Gunakan Narasi Multatuli untuk Tarik Wisatawan". Tempo (in Indonesian). 7 September 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "10 Hal yang Perlu Anda Ketahui Tentang Museum Multatuli". Historia - Majalah Sejarah Populer Pertama di Indonesia (in Indonesian). 14 February 2018.
- ^ Oktaviani, Andra Nur (14 February 2018). "Museum Multatuli, Museum Antikolonialisme Pertama di Indonesia". JawaPos.com (in Indonesian).
- ^ Affan, Heyder (2 March 2017). "197 tahun Multatuli, museum antikolonial pertama di Rangkasbitung". BBC News Indonesia (in Indonesian).
- ^ Tampubolon, Hans David. "Bonnie Triyana: Learning about today's society from history". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Museum Multatuli di Lebak Banten Segera Diresmikan". Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi (in Indonesian). 7 February 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ Carito, Imam B. (23 February 2018). "Rangkasbitung, Museum Multatuli, dan Tuah 'Max Havelaar'". Detik News (in Indonesian).
- ^ Diah, Femi (11 January 2022). "Lebak Level 2, Museum Multatuli Buka Lagi". Detik News (in Indonesian).
- ^ Rifa'i, Bahtiar (5 September 2018). "Yuk ke Lebak! Ada Festival Seni Multatuli untuk Mengenal Sejarah Antikolonial". Detik (in Indonesian).