The Art.The.Fact! Suku Bangsa Bahari Nusantara exhibition features many aspects of the maritime people of South Sulawesi and Madura. The song “Nenek Moyangku” (“Our Ancestors,” Ibu Soed, 1940) echoes throughout the halls of the Jakarta Maritime Museum on Dec. 2. For many, the music brings back memories of our school years, where we learned about our ancestors; seafaring people who built many sturdy ships that navigated them through storms and explored deep oceans of faraway continents. Yet, in this modern era, few young Indonesian urban people can relate to the life and struggles of the seafaring tribes. Their stories have become legendary tales with vague details.
Now, we can truly delve into the life of the seafaring people of Indonesia at Museum Kebaharian Jakarta (Jakarta Maritime Museum) in North Jakarta. From Dec. 2, 2022, to Mar. 2, 2023, the museum hosts an exhibition themed Art.The.Fact! Suku Bangsa Bahari Nusantara (Art.The.Fact! The Archipelago’s Seafaring Tribes) in its temporary exhibition hall.
“Indonesia is blessed with more sea than land,” Mis’ari, head of the Jakarta Maritime Museum, said at the opening of the exhibition on Dec. 2. “Our seafaring tribes have impressed people from many different countries with their ship-making technology, immense knowledge, expertise and rich cultural traditions. The young Indonesian urban people should learn about them and their great contributions to the country.”
Indonesia has over 3.2 mn sq km of sea; about 62 percent of the archipelago’s total area. Approximately 1,300 of its indigenous tribes are seafaring people. Their know-how, laws and cultural traditions have contributed to their current existence.