New attraction to be found at Borobudur

New attraction to be found at Borobudur

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Magelang, Central Java

Widya, a tourist from Malang, East Java, found it hard to believe
the traditional vessel inside the ship museum in the Borobudur
Temple compound had sailed from Bali to Accra, the capital city
of Ghana in Africa.

The vessel measuring 18.29 meters long, 4.25 meters wide and
2.25 meters high is positioned in the very center of the museum,
which was built in a traditional Javanese style, with a joglo
roof. The museum's lighting was designed to delineate the form of
the boat.

Information about the ship, Samudraraksa, displayed on a wall
of the museum includes the story of its 27,000-kilometer journey
from Port Benoa in Bali to Accra, Ghana. The fact the 30 gross
ton boat was constructed without the use of a single nail or iron
pin makes the feat seem all the more impressive.

Since the opening of the exhibit on Aug. 31 tourists have been
invited to climb aboard Samudraraksa and study the equipment used
during its voyage. Though, for the privilege, they are asked to
pay Rp 100,000 per person.

"Many of the visitors, however, prefer to look at the exterior
only. Most of them change their minds after being told they have
to pay that much to have a closer look," a museum employee said.

Samudraraksa, the ship, is the pride of the museum, which is
located right next to the Karma Wibangga Museum.

The ship museum comprises three main buildings.

The first is for information services, a photo display,
posters, reliefs and movie screenings. The second houses the
boat, while the third is for supporting activities, including
offices and souvenir counters.

An English sailor's dream

It was Philip Beale, a former officer of the English navy, who
first had the idea to build a real ship after being amazed by the
relief of six big ships and four smaller ones on the walls of the
Borobudur Temple during his visit in 1982.

The relief describes the activities of sailors of passenger
ships while at sea.

It is thought the ships were carrying cinnamon from Indonesia
to the western coastal areas of Africa, accounting for why the
route is also known as The Cinnamon Route.

It is apparent that the relief had a strong impression on
Beale, who had been on a number of international sailing
expeditions including the 1979 Drake Operation to Fiji and Papua
New Guinea. Twenty years later, in September 2002, he met
renowned Australian ship replica maker Nick Burningham.

Burningham is also a maritime archeologist who made the
replica of Dufken, the first Dutch ship to reach the Australian
continent in 1606.

The following year, in December 2003, Beale and Burningham
went to Kangean, a small island located some 90 kilometers north
of Bali to look for a traditional shipbuilder to help them
realize Beale's dream.

On the island, they met As'ad Abdullah of Pagerungan Kecil
village, Sapeken, Sumenep, East Java, who had been in the ship
making business since 1970. Using Burningham's design, As'ad
built the ship traditionally, and thus brought the relief on
Borobudur Temple into reality.

In building the boat, As'ad used only wood, bamboo and ropes
as fastenings. At least seven different kinds of wood were
reportedly used to build the ship.

The ship replica was designed to be able to carry as many as
16 passengers, 1,500 liters of water, 900 kilograms of rice, one
ton of firewood, 0.5 ton of food and other ingredients, 0.5 tons
of personal belongings and two tons of spices.

Some 26 carpenters were involved in the making of the ship
that cost some Rp 250 million to finish. The making of
Samudraraksa was finished in four months and six days, from Jan.
20 to May 26, 2003.

On July 15, 2003, the ship was officially launched at Port
Benoa, Bali. Exactly a month later the ship was launched for the
cinnamon route expedition at Marina Ancol, Jakarta by then
president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Thirteen people were selected from some 800 applicants from
all over the world to join the expedition. The
13 applicants, plus two others including Philip Beale,
set off for Accra, but two pulled out before reaching the final
destination.

After completing the expedition, the ship was then shipped
back to Indonesia to be displayed at the ship museum.

Created from a relief at Borobudur Temple it is to the temple
that the ship has returned.