Bali's Subak museum faces the threat of closure<\/p>\n
Anton Muhajir, Contributor\/Tabanan, Bali<\/p>\n
The fact that most young Indonesians would rather be anywhere
\nelse but a museum on their days off is not so much a cultural
\nproblem, as a management failure on the part of our museums.<\/p>\n
Take, for example, Subak Museum in Kediri village, Tabanan
\nregency, Bali, which is dedicated to Bali's traditional
\nirrigation system, called subak, and its meaning to the survival
\nof the Balinese.<\/p>\n
On a recent sunny afternoon, Australian Tony Brawn, 78, and
\nhis wife Judy, 73, were just completing their tour of the museum.
\nAs soon as they left the building, an employee turned off the
\nlights, leaving the museum lit only by the light filtering
\nthrough the windows.<\/p>\n
\"We have to cut expenses,\" said Ni Luh Kadek Wiranti, the
\nmuseum's coordinator.<\/p>\n
The Brawns were the last visitors of the day. Earlier, a
\nstudent from France and a young couple from Germany toured the
\nmuseum. There were no other visitors.<\/p>\n
Subak Museum seems to be just marking time until it is closed
\ndown for good. Visitor numbers continue to fall and the museum
\nfalls deeper and deeper into debt.<\/p>\n
Wiranti said the museum only received Rp 22.125 million
\n(US$2,500) annually from the local administration, after an 11.5
\npercent tax deduction.<\/p>\n
\"That means we receive less than Rp 2 million a month to
\nmanage the museum,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Most of the money is used to maintain the museum's
\ncollection, which should be cleaned daily. The museum also has 14
\nstaff members, including Wiranti.<\/p>\n
Wiranti said all of the employees received honorariums for
\neach they worked. They do not carry the status of permanent
\nemployees or civil servants, though the museum has been managed
\nby the Tabanan regency Tourism and Culture Office since January.<\/p>\n
Before this it was under the management of the Bali Culture
\nOffice.<\/p>\n
Subak Museum was established on Oct. 13, 1981, to collect any
\nitems and data related to the subak. The museum tells the story
\nof the traditional irrigation system, including its management
\naccording to Balinese wisdom and customary laws.<\/p>\n
Under the system, which has social, religious and agrarian
\nsignificance, farmers share the water supply so they can work
\ntheir fields throughout the year, regardless of the season.<\/p>\n
This system is only found in Bali and the subak has become
\ninseparable from Balinese society.<\/p>\n
Among the museum's displays are descriptions of the subak and
\nits implementation. The displays are in the form of graphics,
\nitems, pictures and statues, all contained in a room measuring 10
\nmeters-by-20 square meters.<\/p>\n
Visitors can learn about the system, irrigation tools and
\nfarming tools in general, as well as traditional Balinese methods
\nof preparing food from the harvest.<\/p>\n
\"They are very smart,\" Tony Brawn remarked after his visit to
\nthe museum.<\/p>\n
The museum's displays include a pemasih (list of members of
\nthe traditional irrigation system), awig-awig (customary
\nregulations), yokes and traditional farming tools.<\/p>\n
Two wooden yokes dominate the middle of the room. There are
\nalso mortars used by farmers to pound the rice.<\/p>\n
However, the museum has been unable to use all of these
\ninteresting items to attract local visitors.<\/p>\n
\"Visitors to the museum are usually students from Java who are
\non holiday in Bali,\" Wiranti said.<\/p>\n
The lack of promotion by the Association of Balinese Museums
\nmight also account for the few visitors to the museum.<\/p>\n
The staff's professionalism and qualifications can also be
\nquestioned.<\/p>\n
\"I am only a high school graduate and have never received any
\neducation about museums,\" Wiranti said.<\/p>\n
She stressed that the biggest problem facing the museum was
\nfinancial constraints. It is a bit disheartening that the amount
\nof money received by the museum for its operations is less than
\nwhat the last group of Balinese councillors got at the end of
\ntheir term, which reportedly was hundreds of millions of rupiah
\neach.<\/p>",
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