Wealth of W. Sumatra's history open to public
Wealth of W. Sumatra's history open to public
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): West Sumatra and the fascinating Minangkabau
ethnic group have always been attractive to scholars interested
in history.
The beautiful and plentiful natural resources, the people's
outstanding mastery of the arts, and the distinctive societal
system and rich traditions have inspired numerous locals and
foreigners to study the area and its people.
One scholar who dedicated a large part of his life to
documenting his province's history was Rusli Amran, born in 1922,
who was a pioneer journalist and career diplomat.
When he died in September 1996, he left behind him a vast
collection of thousands of authentic and reproduction photos,
maps and old albums, and reports which recorded the way of life
and activities of Minangkabau society and the Dutch colonial
administration in West Sumatra and adjacent areas between l800s
and early 1900s.
This wealth of information is now available to the public
through his books and a photograph collection housed at the Rusli
Amran Foundation which was set up last year on April 17.
The foundation is located in the Pesona Exclusive Housing
Complex Kav.4, Jl. Mampang Prapatan XIX, in South Jakarta.
On Wednesday the foundation will launch a postcard collection
of images of the 1821-1837 Paderi War between West Sumatrans and
the Dutch led by Islamic scholars including Tuanku Imam Bonjol.
Historian Taufik Abdullah, also from West Sumatra, says
that the best items in Rusli's collection are some of the old
photos and reproductions, and pictures of historical places and
events in West Sumatra such as a sketch of the Paderi War.
Rusli's brother, Irwan Amran, chairs the foundation. He said
it was set up because it would have been a waste to keep the vast
collection just within the Amran family.
Secretary of the foundation is Kartina Ruswiyanti, Rusli's
youngest daughter. She said the foundation was actively promoting
its services to local and foreign universities and other kinds of
institutions.
"It was my father's will to make his works useful to others,"
she said.
Irwan explained: "Our main objective is to preserve his
priceless collections and to disseminate information on the
history of West Sumatra and its nearby areas."
The foundation has a prestigious line-up of advisors including
Taufik, historians Sartono Kartodirdjo and AB Lapian, literary
expert A. Teeuw in Leiden, and Makaminan Makagiansar.
Its short-term plans include issuing publications on West
Sumatra's history such as Cerita Lama Dalam Sejarah in
cooperation with PT Balai Pustaka; Soematra Barat Tempo Doeloe
Dalam Gambar (Pustaka Sinar Harapan), and Gambar-Gambar
Perdjoeangan Indonesia (Pustaka Sinar Harapan).
It plans to hold seminars and an exhibition of old photos on
Minangkabau and its surroundings in Padang and Jakarta.
Born in Padang on Sept. 14, 1922, Rusli went to Dutch public
schools HIS and MULO in Padang in the 1940s.
He continued his education in Yogyakarta and before attending
law school in Jakarta. From here he won a scholarship to the
schools of social and politic sciences in universities in
Amsterdam and in Prague between 1947 and 1953.
Back in Indonesia he worked as a reporter at Berita Indonesia
before joining the Ministry of Defense's Information Department
in Yogyakarta and Trade Ministry in Jakarta.
In the mid l950s, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and served in Moscow and Paris.
In 1972, he retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
begin his research work. Between 1974 and 1996, he conducted his
meticulous research in West Sumatra and countries such as the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium and France.
His research projects were sponsored by KILTV, the Ford
Foundation, the Toyota Foundation and the West Sumatra provincial
government.
He wrote a number of important history books and essays such
as Sumatra Barat Hingga Plakat Panjang (1981), and Padang
Riwayatmu Dulu (1983).
Rusli also chronicled genealogies, bibliographies, old
newspapers, official and private notes which portrayed the
history of Dutch colonialism in Minangkabau.
Taufik, a professor of history at the Indonesian Science
Institute, said much of the collection consisted of copies of
articles published in Dutch colonial newspapers, reports and
journals.
"Rusli did not explore many local sources like articles,
speeches or policies issued by Minangkabau leaders, scholars and
other groups of the society."
Some libraries and agencies in Leiden, The Hague and Amsterdam
still have mountains of archives and elaborate data and
information on West Sumatra, he said.
"Of course, it would be costly and time consuming for an
individual to copy all the materials and to finance his own
research."
Documents, archives and other facts concerning West Sumatra,
he said, were divided into four categories: Regular reports,
verbal reports, reports based on Dutch officials' memories, and
private letters and notes including diaries.
Taufik explained Dutch high-ranking officials made regular
written reports on conditions in the province, while verbal
reports often dealt with various issues such as taxation, legal
and governmental systems.
"Rusli's collection is just a part of existing documentation
on West Sumatra kept in the Netherlands," explained Taufik.
Rusli's tireless efforts had proved a worthy inspiration, he
added.
"It has encouraged other researchers to explore more of the
history of West Sumatra in particular and of other provinces in
Indonesia.
"For students and young researchers, these collections would
certainly be a valuable help to them in their search for
important materials on West Sumatra that could otherwise only be
found in the Netherlands."
Secretary Ruswiyanti said that foundation staff were still
engaged in setting up a data base on all the items in the
collection.
"We hope this work will be completed within six months so that
people can then have easy on-line access to what is in the
collection," she said.
Anyone interested in the collection can check the foundation's
homepage on http//www.rusli-amran.org.