MUHIBAH BUDAYA JALUR REMPAH Trace the Road of the Past, Explore the Spices of the Future

Dewa Ruci moves across Banda Naira -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

he expressions of joy and

Tenthusiasm are radiated from the faces of the Laskar Rempah which number 147 people and come from 34 provinces. That happiness never fades from the faces of the participants of the activity of Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah who have sailed for 32 days from June 1 to July 1, 2022 using the legendary ship, KRI Dewaruci, from the point of departure to the time of landing at the destination. The activity, entitled Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah, is an activity initiated by the Directorate of Development and Utilization, Directorate General of Culture, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology in collaboration with the Indonesian Navy, local governments, and local communities located at every knot point of the archipelago’s Spice Route . This activity will originally be held last year, but due to the pandemic conditions at that time, this activity can only be carried out in 2022. This Spice Route trail activity was carried out at six knot points of Spice Route , namely Surabaya, Makassar, Baubau and Buton, Ternate and Tidore, Banda Naira, Kupang, and ends back in Surabaya. Participants were divided into four routes, namely the Surabaya – Makassar route which was successfully traversed by the Lada batch, the Makassar – Baubau and Buton – Ternate and Tidore route which had been explored by the Clove batch, the Ternate and Tidore – Banda Naira – Kupang route which was

Gandrang Bulo dance, a unique dance from South Sulawesi which is a form of the artists’ struggle during the colonial era -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

explored by the Nutmeg batch, and the last route, namely Kupang – Surabaya and Mojokerto, which was tested by the Sandalwood batch. The naming of the batch refered to the uniqueness of the spice type at each knot point that was passed by and the uniqueness of the spice type from each point was marked by the planting of spice tree seeds at each point as a symbol of the presence of the Laskar Rempah as well as in harmony with the concept of sustainable living.

Knot Points of Spice Route

The first and last knot points in the series of Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah activity in 2022 were Surabaya and Mojokerto. Apart from being the base of KRI Dewaruci, Surabaya in the past had a role as an economic supporter, especially during the Majapahit era. Therefore, this knot point was attached directly to the City of Mojokerto as an interesting unitary knot for the Laskar Rempah to explore. The trail started from Kalimas Harbor, Syahbandar Tower, and Customs

KRI Dewaruci is anchoring in the Madura Strait -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

Jejer Gandrung dance in the release of KRI Dewaruci -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

Acknowledgement from the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology during the release of KRI Dewaruci at the Madura Pier Koarmada II, Surabaya -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

Market, exploration of spice trading centers in the Surabaya area continued to the center of the Majapahit kingdom in Trowulan District, Mojokerto as one of the largest archaeological site areas and to the school of the first president of Indonesia, Soekarno.

In the city of Makassar, there are sites and museums for storing Archipelago’s cultural works, such as the Phinisi ship and the La Galigo manuscript which are designated by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritages and as a memory of the world. In addition, the Laskar Rempah visited the site and museum of the Sumba Opu Fort, Karaeng Pattingaloang Museum, Rotterdam Fort, La Galigo Museum, Makassar City Museum, and the Raja Tallo Dining Complex. Next, the Troops visited and discussed at the Balla Lompoa Museum in Gowa Regency, which was suspected to be the former palace of the Gowa Kingdom as an important point for Karaeng Pattingaloang’s character. The knot points of Baubau city and Buton regency on Buton Island become significant because they are mentioned in Mpu Prapanca’s Negarakertagama book (1365 AD), namely; Butuni. This island is a ‘Zone of Connector’ and as a ‘Trader of Agency’ between the spice center in Eastern Indonesia and the center of the spice processing industry in western Indonesia. The Laskar Rempah then visited Wolio Fort in the former Buton

Reog in the release of KRI Dewaruci -

Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah

Sultanate. In addition, the Laskar Rempah were also invited to get to know more about the life of the Bajo tribe in Wabula district.

The knot points of Ternate and Tidore are reminiscent of the four old Moluccan sultanates, namely, Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, and Jailolo called Moluku Kie Raha. In Ternate, Laskar Rempah visited Kastella Fort, Oranje Fort, Ternate Sultan’s Kedaton, and Clove Plantation in Tubo village. While in Tidore, Laskar Rempah visited Kedaton Kie (the palace of the Sultan of Tidore), Fort Torre, and Fort Tahula.

The easternmost point is Banda Naira which is located in the Banda islands. The Banda Islands were known as the only nutmeg and mace producing area until the 18th century. This island is referred to in the Negarakertagama book as Wandan and is considered to be included in the territory of the Majapahit Kingdom and during the colonial period it had become a prima donna among European nations so that in 1667, the British exchanged Run island with Manhattan island, New York.

Traces of spices on the island of Banda were traced by Laskar Rempah in several locations such as Belgica Fort, Kampung Baru Old Mosque, Nassau Fort, and Mini Palace. In addition, they also visited Bung Hatta’s house, Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo’s house, and Iwa Kusumo Sumantri’s house, the former residence of several national figures who had been exiled to Banda.

The Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah is also a moment of realizing a historic visit through the Baku Dapa Basudara Wandan event (the Meeting of Wandan Brothers) which for the first time in 401 years, since their ancestors were expelled from Banda by the VOC, return to Banda land. Basudara Wandan is the descendant of Banda who now live in the Kei Islands called Banda Eli/Ely and Banda Elat. During the colonial period, their ancestors survived the VOC massacre because they refused the monopoly of nutmeg and spice trade there.

The last point, namely Kupang, is an area famous for sandalwood, an endemic plant in East Nusa Tenggara and its quality smells good to India, China, Saudi Arabia, and Europe. At this point, the troops stopped by in Kupang and had

the opportunity to visit and see directly and discuss at the sandalwood garden in Nitneo village. In addition to getting to know the sandalwood plant more closely, Laskar Rempah were also given education about weaving.

Learning Maritime Culture on the Dewaruci Ship

“My ancestors are sailors” That is roughly the spirit in the Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah activity which in each batch sails on average for 2-5 days. While sailing, participants were given maritime material and basic safety training provided by the crew of KRI Dewaruci, a ship owned by the Indonesian Navy which is still actively using sails during the voyage. The use of the sails is similar to the experience of earlier sailors who used traditional ships whose pushing power relied on wind power.

Therefore, the material about sail roles which included how to billow and use a sail became relevant to be given to participants. In addition, participants were also given an introduction to navigation, namely two ways in determining the navigation position through GPS or constellations, a way to determine the position of ships inherited from their ancestors. The other material was the knowledge of reading a star chart (a map of constellations) to determine a position of a ship.

What is interesting was that when the ship crossed the equator, namely on the Baubau - Ternate route and the Tidore - Banda route, KRI Dewaruci carried out the Equatorial Bathing Tradition. This equatorial bathing tradition was mandatory for all ship occupants, including the Laskar Rempah. By the time KRI Dewaruci crossed the equator, all the crew and the Laskar Rempah gathered on the deck. Some of the ship’s crew played the role of Neptune (god of the seas), Amfirite (wife of Neptune), Davy Jones (religious messenger of Neptune), and retainers (loyal follower of Davy Jones). Next, one of the ship’s crew guided the participants to contemplate and proceed to face Neptune one by one. Neptune then watered each participant with flower water which was given a Dewaruci’s special mixture. After bathing, participants were given a specially formulated herbal concoction. At the end of the event, the participants took a group photo and were given a certificate which marked them having taken an equatorial bath. According to Sugeng Hariyanto, this equatorial bathing tradition is also still carried out when crossing the equator in foreign territories.

Another important moment experienced by the participants while sailing was the flower-sowing procession in the Bali Sea in memory of KRI Nanggala 402 which sank a year ago. This procession lasted about 30 minutes. All the crew and Laskar Rempah one by one sowed flowers into

the waters of Bali. When the procession took place, all crew members wore white Indonesian Navy uniforms, while the Laskar Rempah wore the typical clothes of their respective regions. Nabila Putri Delinda, a Laskar Rempah of East Java Province, felt very lucky to be able to join the procession. According to Nabila, although they did not know the victims one by one, at least they could represent the Indonesian Laskar Rempah and paid their last respects and wished the best for KRI Nanggala 402.

Spice Route as Part of World Civilization

The Muhibah Budaya Jalur Rempah activity is just one of the efforts of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to propose the Spice Route to UNESCO as one of the cultural heritages. The Spice Route is not just a spice trade road from the archipelago to the world trade market. The road that was created in the past has left various cultural traces such as the creation of forts, various kinds of food, medicine, cosmetics, up to works of art. Traces of this spice artefact are also found in classical world civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, India, and China. The Director General of Culture, Hilmar Farid, stated that the spices of the archipelago had an important role and became the main commodity that was able to influence political, economic, and socio-cultural conditions on a global scale.

Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Hilmar Farid said, “The Spice Route is not only a spice trade, but also a cultural exchange. We hope that the Laskar Rempah can revive cultural exchanges and associations as happened thousands of years ago through the Spice Route ”.

(Anny Veradiani/ A Senior Cultural Administrator of Directorate of Cultural

Development and Utilization)

Acknowledgement from the Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Hilmar

Farid - Editorial Team of Jalur Rempah