Ambary devotes life to Islamic archeology
Ambary devotes life to Islamic archeology
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): Unearthing stones, artifacts and the skeletal
remains of ancient humans in remote areas may sound like an
unappealing job to many people, but not to Hasan Muarif Ambary.
Born sixty years ago in Kuningan, West Java, Ambary, a
professor of archeology, is one of the very few scholars who has
devoted his entire working life to the development of archeology
in Indonesia. He is also the only senior expert in Islamic
archeology.
"I am interested in Islamic archeology because it is very
important to the life of the Indonesian people and the nation,
where Muslims make up the majority of the population," the soft-
spoken Ambary said.
Ambary said that to special in Islamic archeology, a person
"must learn and understand the Arabic language and ancient
Malayan and Javanese transcripts, which are indeed very
difficult".
Ambary was lucky to be able to study Arabic, written and
spoken, since his childhood. "My father was an ulema (Islamic
religious leader) who was very strict with his children," he
remembered.
Through his research and studies, Ambary found that Islam
entered Indonesia peacefully and was easily adapted to Indonesian
culture and society.
He describes the process in his most-recent book, Menemukan
Peradaban, Jejak Arkeologi dan Historis Islam Indonesia (Finding
a Civilization, Archeological Traces and Islamic History in
Indonesia).
Ambary also reveals that most communities in Indonesia's
history adopted Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, and were
able to live in harmony.
"Archeological studies remain relevant to the current
condition. We can draw important lessons from our past successes
and failures in handling current social, political, religious and
cultural matters," Ambary explained.
His interest in archeology was aroused while he was still a
student in junior high school. "I had a very kind and clever
teacher," he recalled.
The teacher told fascinating stories about ancient
civilizations in Egypt, China, India and, of course, Indonesia.
"I had very wonderful experiences when I heard stories about
how people worked hard to understand the meaning of animal
paintings in European caves and uncover the remains of the
ancient Egyptian civilization," Ambary said.
In l964, he studied archeology at the University of
Indonesia. Ambary received his doctoral degree in 1984 from the
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociale in Paris. He wrote his
dissertation on ancient Islamic tombs in Indonesia. He now heads
the National Archeological Research Center.
"Not many people understand the significant role of
archeology in the development of a nation," Ambary said.
"Archeology is really not a popular science in Indonesia.
People always link it to the archaic world, and believe that it
has no relation to the present or the future," Ambary commented.
"In fact, archeology is a holistic and integrative study of
mankind," he stated.
Archeology is not merely the excavation and study of
artifacts. The science actually centers on the lives of the
people who deposited all archeological remains.
Ambary said that archeologists wanted to contribute to the
understanding of the human species by examining the lives of
ancient people.
An archeologist's main task is to discover, recover,
reconstruct and explain the physical evidence of a culture in a
certain time and certain place, he explained.
Archeology, anthropology, history, geology and other related
sciences complement each other. Historians learn about the past
through written records, while archeologists explore it through
various materials dating as far back as four million years.
"By attempting to unearth as many materials as possible, we
may draw a preliminary picture of the social and cultural
systems, technological achievements and other skills of the
people who once lived in a certain area," he said.
Indonesia boasts very rich and diverse archeological remains
throughout the country. Yet, there is little interest in
archeology from the government, the private sector and the
general population.
"We are now facing the danger of losing our vital
archeological heritage because of various natural or
developmental reasons," he said.
As an example, he cited the construction of a housing complex
in West Java's Rancamaya valley, which might have destroyed an
important archeological site believed to be the holy place of
the kings of the Padjadjaran Hindu Kingdom, which held sway over
West Java in the fifth century.
Around the country, many other archeological sites are being
threatened by various industrial, infrastructure and housing
projects.
"It is high time for all parties to understand the importance
of preserving archeological remains as the clues and pathways to
our past," Ambary said.
Despite the existence of the Law on Cultural and
Archeological Preservation, there are still many violations
which occur. The demolition of archeological sites and the theft
of artifacts are recurring events.
"So far, the punishments for violators have been very lenient.
The enforcement of the law must be stricter in order to protect
our valuable legacy," Ambary said.
In developed countries such as the United States, Japan,
France and Britain, any development project must involve at least
one archeologist to prevent any destruction of possible
archeological remains.
"Being an archeologist is a respected and prestigious
profession in those countries," Ambary said. They are hired by
large companies, such as mining and construction firms, to work
on their development projects.
They also have easy access to research and development funds
through universities and government agencies.
In Indonesia, the situation is very different. There are only
four universities in Indonesia, including the University of
Indonesia in Jakarta and the Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, which have archeology departments.
Each of the four universities accepts between 20 and 30
students every year. This means that there will be somewhere
between 50 and 100 new archeology graduates each academic year.
"For a country as wide and rich as Indonesia, such a number is
insufficient," Ambary stated.
However, life for new archeology graduates is very difficult
because job opportunities are rare. Many of the graduates
eventually enter other professions.
"It is a pity and a waste of good human resources because we
are now facing a lot of subjects and problems in the
archeological field ," he asserted.
The National Archeological Research Center has 10 branches
across several provinces, but the center can only absorb around
ten new employees each year.
"We only have two archeologists working in our Irian Jaya
branch. How can they work to their optimum ability in such a huge
province," Ambary asked, adding that all policies regarding the
hiring of new employees were made by the central government.
Ambary hoped that during the three-day archeological meeting
in Yogyakarta starting on Monday, the members of the Indonesian
Archeologists Association would be able to find solutions to the
existing problems facing Indonesia's archeologists. If they are
unable to come up with any solutions, the country's rich heritage
could be lost forever.