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
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
