Museum Prasasti: Learning history from a headstone

Museum Prasasti: Learning history from a headstone

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The past comes to life at Museum Taman Prasasti (Inscription
Museum) in Central Jakarta where headstones from the days of
Dutch rule are housed.

Many Dutch people visit the museum as much information can be
gleaned from the headstones about their ancestors.

"Around 200 Dutch people come to the museum each year. Most of
them are tourists, but there are also scholars who carry out
research here," museum supervisor Sudihardjo told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday.

The museum was formerly a cemetery known as Kebon Jahe Kober.
The cemetery was built by the Dutch colonial government in 1795
as a final resting place for those of Dutch ancestry,
particularly those from noble and senior official families.

There are many noted Dutch people buried there including two
military men Maj. Gen. A.V. Michiel and Maj. Gen. J.H. R. Kohler,
who respectively led wars in Bali and Aceh, as well as the
founder of Stovia school of medicine -- now the University of
Indonesia -- H. V. Roll.

Other important people buried there are Olivie Mariamne
Raffles -- wife of British governor general Thomas Stamford
Raffles -- and Indonesian youth activist Soe Hok Gie.

After an independent Indonesia was declared in 1945, prominent
Indonesians were also buried in Kebon Jahe Kober, Christians in
particular.

The city administration closed the graveyard in 1975 and
turned it into museum in 1977.

Bearing a skull and crossbones, one headstone at the museum
that draws comment is that of Pieter Erberveld, who died in 1722.
Erberveld, who had a wealthy German father and a Burmese mother,
was sentenced to death for plotting to murder several Dutchmen.

It is said the sentence was carried out by the tying of a
horse to all four of Erberveld's limbs, which, when the animals
bolted, tore him apart. This is the reason why the area on Jl.
Jayakarta in Central Jakarta is called Kulit Pecah (broken skin).

The graveyard, which is located less than a kilometer from the
State Palace, originally occupied some 5.5 hectares of land, but
the museum has grounds of just 1.3 hectares. The office of the
Central Jakarta administration is among buildings situated on the
remainder of the land.

Before the construction of the offices, some of the graves
were excavated and arrangements made with relatives for the
remains to be sent home. Other bodies were reburied in several
cemeteries around the city.

However, the headstones were all left at the site, largely due
to their weight, particularly those with statues.

Sudihardjo said the museum had a collection of 1,300 items,
mostly headstones. There is also a hearse used during the Dutch
era, a bronze bell, and the coffins of founding president and
vice president Soekarno and Muhammad Hatta.

Awaluddin, a museum employee, said Jakartans also visited but
mostly students.

He said, however, ticket sales alone did not cover the
operational costs of the museums.

"Only around 50 visitors come to the museum each month," he
said, adding that the majority of funding came from the city
budget.

Sudihardjo said many things could be learned from
studying the headstones -- not only the fact that many
Indonesians suffered under Dutch control, but also the
contributions of "good Dutch people" to the nation.

"Visitors to the museum -- both Dutch and Indonesian -- can
learn from the headstones that good and bad people can be found
side by side, anywhere," he added.