Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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The gamelan is an ensemble, well-known as an Indonesian icon, and popular in today's media. However, how well do we really know about its background and roots? How ancient/recent is it, for...Show moreThe gamelan is an ensemble, well-known as an Indonesian icon, and popular in today's media. However, how well do we really know about its background and roots? How ancient/recent is it, for instance? The paper proposes various lines of investigation while highlighting issues of perception and definition hidden in the very core of the object of investigation. Current public perceptions of the gamelan may have to undergo challenges if we are to find an answer. In compensation for such challenges, we discover a fascinating Asia-wide cultural, social and historical perspective and a delightfully rich matrix in which the gamelan emerged.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
A unique view on gender is one of the features that reputedly distinguishes Southeast Asia from the neighboring regions. The main purpose of this project is to put this hypothesis to the test by...Show moreA unique view on gender is one of the features that reputedly distinguishes Southeast Asia from the neighboring regions. The main purpose of this project is to put this hypothesis to the test by locating and exploring femininity in early Indonesia, as it is the heartland of the cultural area in question. We should be able to see some of the social norms and convictions of the time reflected in works of art intended for a broad audience. In order to affirm or dispute the claim that women and men were considered equal in pre-modern Indonesia, I will be looking at the reliefs of Borobudur. Interestingly, the stories taken from Buddhist texts are not illustrated word for word, but have been infused with local meanings. Images of women and the narratives behind them could help us understand what social patterns femininity was associated with at the time. A smart and timely reference to the historical data available can be used to interpret and supplement the findings. At the end of my journey, I would be able to answer to what extent have expectations of normative social behavior affected the visual depictions of women. Subsequently, it will be possible to determine what aspects of femininity are exclusive to Indonesia and enrich our understanding of its pre-modernity.Show less
Bodhgaya is situated in the state of Bihar in India and is known as the place where the Buddha became awakened while sitting under a Bodhi tree, which is marked by the diamond seat (Sanskrit:...Show moreBodhgaya is situated in the state of Bihar in India and is known as the place where the Buddha became awakened while sitting under a Bodhi tree, which is marked by the diamond seat (Sanskrit: vajrasana). The holy site developed in recent times from a small village to one of the most important places of Buddhist pilgrimage on an international scale. For this research I focus on how Bodhgaya, as a lieu de mémoire, became a global village, and show how the visual culture of three foreign temples from Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand visually express on the one hand their relationship with the site as a place of memory, and on the other hand their relationship with their home country.Show less
The Forbidden City, built between 1406 and 1420, is described on the website of UNESCO as embodying ‘the traditional characteristic of urban planning and palace construction in ancient China’....Show moreThe Forbidden City, built between 1406 and 1420, is described on the website of UNESCO as embodying ‘the traditional characteristic of urban planning and palace construction in ancient China’. Religious, philosophical and ideological symbolism abound in the Forbidden City, from the representation of cosmology in the assignment of halls and palaces according to the concept of yin and yang, to the nine by nine grids of door bolts on the gates, the Chinese pronunciation of ‘nine’ being a homonym of ‘everlasting’. What this thesis attempts to do is rebuild the ideological identity of the early Ming dynasty as it is expressed in the Forbidden City architecture through texts and images, and to see whose identity is being expressed.Show less
With relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining...Show moreWith relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining culture. Therefore the way that museum collections are accumulated cannot be overlooked. Indeed, according to Peter ter Keurs, collecting is not a neutral activity and in the colonial times, it is a political statement (2009, p. 147). This implies the political nature of museums and its connection with colonialism, in the way that museum collections comprise of objects considered valuable by the colonial power’s perspective. Proceeding from these concepts, my aim is to focus on the analysis of Indonesian collections in the National Museum of Indonesia and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. To be more particular, the thesis seeks to enquiry the repatriation of objects as well as museum collaboration and how these affect the relationship between the two museums, and the two countries. In doing so, the thesis will also look into the practice of collecting, the birth of museums, and the debate over cultural ownership as the foundation to proceed to the discussion about repatriation, museum collaboration, and shared cultural inheritance.Show less
