Adityawarman Museum is a State Museum (''Museum Negeri'') located in
Padang,
Western Sumatra. As a State Museum, Adityawarman Museum is officially known as the State Museum of West Sumatra (''Museum Negeri Sumatera Barat''). The museum displays ethnographic collections of items related to the culture of the Province of West Sumatra, particularly the culture of
Minangkabau and
Mentawai.
History
The idea for a museum dedicated to the culture of
West Sumatra was first proposed by Amir Ali, the Head of the Department of Education of Culture of the Province of West Sumatra. The original proposal was to build a "Minangkabau Culture Hall". The idea was proposed to the Governor of West Sumatra at that time,
Harun Al Rasyid Zain. This idea was responded to positively by national authorities, so the construction of the State Museum for the Province of West Sumatra commenced.
Construction started in 1974 over a plot of land of about . Construction took about 3 years. The museum was inaugurated on March 16, 1977 by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia at that time,
Syarief Thayeb. On May 28, 1979, a State Museum was established under the name 'State Museum of West Sumatra' (Indonesian ''Museum Negeri Sumatera Barat'') and was given the name ''Adityawarman''. The name
Adityawarman was derived from the 14th-century founder and ruler of
Malayapura
Pagaruyung (ڤاڬارويوڠ; also Pagarruyung, Pagar Ruyung and, Malayapura or Malayupura) was the seat of the Minangkabau kings of Western Sumatra, though little is known about it. Modern Pagaruyung is a village in ''Tanjung Emas'' subdist ...
in the
Minangkabau Highlands.
The proposal for the name ''Adityawarman'' was filled with controversy, especially among the West Sumatrans. Despite the important historic role of Adityawarman in bringing glory to the
Minangkabau kingdom and the fact that he was a Minangkabau through the matrilineal order, Adityawarman's affiliation with the Javanese rulers rendered him controversial. One example of a controversy surrounding the name of ''Adityawarman'' was when the Minister of Education
Mohammad Yamin
Mohammad Yamin (24 August 1903 – 17 October 1962) was an Indonesians, Indonesian poet, politician and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia, 1945 c ...
wanted to give the name to a university in West Sumatra, but the people rejected the name and changed it to
Andalas University in 1956. In 1975, Governor Harun Zain refused to allow the museum to be called Adityawarman Museum. However, his refusal was reversed by
Azwar Anas
Ir. Haji Azwar Anas gelar Datuk Rajo Suleman (born 2 August 1931), more colloquially referred to as Pak Anas, is a former Indonesian politician, bureaucrat, and military officer. A member of the Golkar political party, he served in a number of ...
, his successor.
Following the regional autonomy scheme in Indonesia, in 2001 the management of the museum was transferred to the West Sumatran Regional Government, directly under the Department of Culture and Tourism of West Sumatera Province.
The museum was damaged in the
Padang earthquake. More than 80% of the museum's collection was destroyed.
Building
The museum is housed in a traditional
Minangkabau building known as the
Rumah Gadang. Two
rangkiang
Rangkiang (also lumbuang) is a granary or rice barn of the Minangkabau people used to keep rice. The rangkiang is a distinctive feature of Minangkabau architecture. The structure is traditionally found in the courtyard of a '' rumah gadang'', the ...
s (Minangkabau rice granaries) flank the museum at the front yard.
Collection
The museum houses historic and cultural objects found in the province of West Sumatra, especially those related to the culture and history of
Minangkabau and
Mentawai. As of 2006, the museum houses 5,781 items. The most notable collection in the Adityawarman Museum are relics from the time of the 11th-century Malay-Buddhist kingdom of
Dharmasraya, e.g. duplicates of the statue of
Bhairawa
Siddharthanagar ( ne, सिद्धार्थनगर), formerly and colloquially still called Bhairahawa ( ne, भैरहवा), is a municipality and the administrative headquarter of Rupandehi District in Lumbini Province of Nepal, ...
and
Amoghapasa inscription
Amoghapasa inscription is an inscription inscribed on the back of ''pāduka Amoghapāśa'' as referred to in Padang Roco inscription.
In 1347, Adityawarman added this inscription on back of the statue proclaimed that the statue portrayed himself ...
(the original is kept in the
National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
).
See also
*
List of museums and cultural institutions in Indonesia
References
Cited works
*
{{refend
Museums in West Sumatra
Buildings and structures in Padang