Me and Elephant Museum

On Saturday, May 28, 2011 me with my two friends, Wimala and Filza, went together to the Elephant Museum. At 10:30 we went to the museum that located at Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat 12. This building was built in 1862 by the Dutch Government under the Governor-General JCM Radermacher as a response to the association Bataviaasch Genootschap Kunsten van en Wetenschappen aimed reviewing scientific research in the Netherlands Indies. The museum was inaugurated in 1868, but the embryo of the Museum as an institution was born in 1778, precisely on 24 April, at the time of formation Bataviaasch Kunsten Genootschap van en Wetenschappen by the Dutch government.The National Museum is known as Museum Gajah since bronze statue of an elephant was given by King Chulalongkorn of Thailandpada 1871. But on May 28, 1979, the name officially became the National Museum of the Republic of Indonesia. Then on 17 September 1962, the Cultural Institute of Indonesia who managed, submitting to the government of the Republic of Indonesia Museum. Since then the management of official museum by the Directorate General of History and Archaeology, under the Ministry of Education and Culture. But starting in 2005, the National Museum under the management of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.When it arrived, we were required to buy tickets at a price of 5000 dollars only. There we met with some of the elementary school group who were doing fieldtrip. We also met some foreign tourists from different countries.This is the first time I visited the Elephant Museum so I was very excited to vist it.
 StumbledFirst of all me and my two friends entered the museum on the right. There I found a collection of museums called stumbling. Stumbling is a sculpture made of ironwood in the chisel and carving. This comes from Muaratewe stumbled, Central Kalimantan. Stumbled shaped generally resemble small houses roofed curved and usually decorated with carved motifs kenyalang (hornbills), as a symbol of the rulers of the above. Agency stumbled supported by several pillars decorated with carved motifs tumpal as a symbol of the direction toward heaven / nirvana. There stumbled a colonnaded 1, 2, 3, even 4. The number of poles of reflecting the small size of stumbling. Stumbled on the body chamber is used to store the jars containing the bones of dead people.Dayak people familiar with the system of secondary burial. Originally buried people who died first. At the appointed hour, then held the ceremony as the culmination Tiwah procession of death for the Dayak Kaharingan embracing belief system. Adherents believe Kaharingan man who always does good in his lifetime, his spirit will re-united with his body after death. The Spirit lewutatau or go directly to heaven to join with God (Ranying Hatala Langi). But the human body when life marred by the passions would be difficult to re-united with his spirit, so it is not easy to leave for the lewutatau. Therefore the body (bones) of the deceased should be cleaned with water and coconut oil to the body through the ceremony Tiwah can unite with the spirit in heaven. Once the bone is cleaned, then buried in the Palai Central for two days. The last step is to put the bones into stumbled.Tiwah ceremony led by a priest (pisur) and lasted for seven days. During the activity held last dance "manganjan" which means take the spirit to heaven. In this ceremony sacrificed tens of animals, like buffalo, cows, pigs, and chickens as a stock for those who died on his way to heaven. All equipment ceremonies and animal sacrifices to pay a big, so sometimes Tiwah ceremony performed in bulk as well as Ngaben ceremony in Bali.
 Ciwa MahadevaAfter observing stumbled, I went back around the museum. The museum has 141,899 objects, composed of seven types of collections of prehistoric, archaeological, ceramics, numismtik-heraldry, history, ethnography and geography. Here I saw many statues of Hindu-Buddhist deities such as Brahma and Shiva statue, then many of them there are also statues of the greatest and are close to the park is a statue Bhairawa. Then I found a statue of Mahadeva Ciwa found by accident on September 1, 2001 by Br. Samo on land owned by Mr.. Sumanto in Hamlet Karangnongko, Klaten, Central Java. Ciwa Mahadeva is the supreme deity in Hinduism. Based ikonografinya berlanggam Central Java art, the statue is probably derived from the 9th century BC.After that we climbed the second floor of the museum. There are rooms containing valuable treasures of antiquity. I saw crowns made of gold, then a wide range of jewelry which is certainly a very high value. Unfortunately, there we were not allowed to take pictures.Then me and my two friends went on our trip in the Elephant Museum. We go towards building new ones. This building looks more modern than the old building. But when we were there, the atmosphere is very quiet. This building consists of 4 floors. Collection on the first floor is not too much, including the model of early humans. We also saw the human fossil remains buried in the cave. After that we headed to the next floor.On the second or third floor, I forgot, I found the inscriptions, including the monument inscription. The monument inscription is one of the inscriptions that come from the Kingdom Tarumanagara. The inscription reads characters Pallawa seloka arranged in the form of Sanskrit with the teridiri metrum Anustubh of five lines encircling the shape of the stone surface. As all the inscriptions of the Tarumanagara general, monument inscription also does not list calender. Chronology is based on an analysis of style and form letters (analysis palaeografis). Based on the analysis note that the inscription is from the mid-5th century AD. Special monument and inscription inscription Cidanghiyang have similar characters, it is perhaps the sculptor posts (citralaikha> citralekha) The second inscription is the same person. The inscription describes the contents Candrabaga River by excavation and trenching Rajadirajaguru Gomati River by Purnawarman in year 22 of his reign. Excavation of the river is an idea to avoid the natural disasters of flooding that often occurs in the reign Purnawarman, and the drought that occurred in the dry season.Sentence in the form of monument inscriptions such seloka transcribed as follows:Rajadhirajena guruna Pura purine phrapya khyatam pinabhahuna khata. Candrabhagarnavam yayau pravarddhamanadwavincadvatsa (re) crigunaujasa narendradhvajbhunena (bhuten). Crimata Purnnavarmmana prarabhya Phalgune (ne) mase-khata krshnatashimithau Caitracukla trayodcyam dinais siddhaikavinchakai (h). Ayata shatsahasrena Dhanusha (m) ca sacaten dvavincena pulse ramya Gomati nirmalodaka pitamahasya rajarshervvidarya cibiravanim.Bhrahmanair ggo-sahasrena (na) prayati krtadakshino.Translation:Formerly on the orders of His Excellency Purnwarman rajadiraja, which stands out in happiness and services over the king, in the twenty-two glorious reign, carried out excavations in Candrabhaga River after the river beyond the capital of the famous and before going to sea. Excavation began on the eighth day of the month Phalguna and even finished on the thirteenth day of the moon bright moon image, for twenty-one days. New channels with crystal clear water called Gomati River, flows along the arc beyond 6122 dormitory priest king who dipepundi as the common ancestor of the Brahmins. The priests were given a gift a thousand head of cattle.
 Monument Inscription
Once the monument inscription noticed, my back around the museum to see the other collection. More and above, the museum is more quiet, probably because the building was new and when I visited was the Saturdays. Then we went down and back to the old building.At 12:40, I and my two friends decided to go back home. A visit to the museum is quite fun for me, because I can see the relics of the past that I think is interesting, especially accompanied by friends who enliven the atmosphere. Someday I want to go back to visit this museum again.