Visiting the Indonesian Museum, Learning About Indonesian History and Civilization

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Hello everyone, how are you? I hope you're all well. Recently, I visited a place called Taman Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia Park). This place houses several museums. One of them was the Indonesian Museum. The building features Balinese architecture and is adorned with a variety of exquisite and delicate Balinese carvings and statues.

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This place was conceived by Mrs. Tin Soeharto in 1975. The front gate is in the style of a padu raksa (a Javanese word for "candi bentara") and a candi bentara (a Balinese temple). There's a typical Balinese split gate, and there's even a garden that depicts stories from the Ramayana. For example, the bridge leading to the main building is shaped like a dragon and a wanara (a Javanese dragon), and the Kerak (a Javanese warrior) army building a bridge to Alengka (the kingdom of Java).

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This three-story building embodies the Balinese philosophy of Trihita Karana, a moral concept emphasizing three aspects that can lead to true happiness: maintaining a harmonious relationship with God, with fellow human beings, and finally with nature and the surrounding environment.

The museum boasts a collection of artifacts. The Indonesian Museum serves as a repository for the history of Indonesian civilization. So, this magnificent building is not just a building, but also houses and exhibits objects and stories from Indonesia's long history, thoughts, ideals, messages, works, glories, and joys of the past.

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The museum's collections include traditional clothing from Indonesian tribes. On the top floor, there's an 8-meter-tall Kalpataru tree carving, the main collection on the third floor. Entering this place, I felt quite intimidated and felt a little spooky.

The first floor, themed "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika," houses a collection of traditional clothing from Indonesia's 27 provinces. There are also a number of distinctive Indonesian arts, including wayang (wayang), pari (pari), gamelan (traditional music), traditional games, and a map of Indonesia.

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The second floor, dedicated to humans and the environment, depicts the interaction of Indonesian society with nature and the environment. This exhibit showcases miniature models of traditional houses, the construction of ribadatan (houses) and rice barns in Indonesia.

I didn't actually explore the third floor much because of the large carving. However, the third floor focuses on arts and crafts. Showcasing traditional and contemporary arts and crafts from the Indonesian people.

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Posted Using INLEO