WASAKA MUSEUM

Name              : Ikrimah

NPM               : 10.21.0005

Class               : C

Subject           : Writing

WASAKA MUSEUM

Wasaka museum is easy to reach by everyone because accessible by motorcycle or by ship. Wasaka museum is located at Sultan Adam street in South Kalimantan. This museum is besides a very strong and long bridge, and its name is 17 May or known as Banua Anyar bridge. So, if people want to go there, they can find it easily, because it located in a strategic place.

Wasaka museum is a historic building, this museum established in the 10^th November 1991 by Ir. H. Muhammad  Said as a governor in South Kalimantan (1984-1995). Wasaka is an abbreviation  of Waja Sampai Kaputing, a motto struggle of Banjar people that has meaning “if you want to do something must be well done, right and complete”. In the past, this building  is a house that lived by Banjar people, because this house is a custom house, the government buy it with the price of twenty-five million rupiah and make this house as a museum and give it name as Wasaka. This is an effort of government to preserving the art and culture, especially for Banjarist culture. Since the beginning of founding, Wasaka museum planned will show the collection covers five round history, they were Banjar war period, the pioneering period of independence and the residency period of Japan, physical revolution period, charging period of independence, and new order period. But, that happened up to now just one period, that is the physical revolution period. The physical revolution period is a struggles to return South Kalimantan to be member of Indonesian region (1946-1949). Eventhough the collection is still not complete. But, gathering more collection more collection and build the museum will continue  to be supported by the government and office of youth, sports, culture, and tourism of South Kalimantan as a manager. So, we can conclude that this museum has a long time until now to collect a lot of historic things, and we as Banjarist people have to proud with this building.

This building also has a beautiful view, eventhough the size of the museum is not large, but there you can see a beautiful view under the Banua Anyar bridge that surrounded by the river. This museum also provide a place to relax, and it located behind the museum. There is also a garden that you can use to relax. In addition, there is also a pond around it are banyan tree. The wind gently blowing makes visitors more welcome there. The building of wasaka museum also can seen by everyone that walk through Banua Anyar bridge from Gatot Subroto street to the Sultan Adam street, because on the roof of the museum is a bold word with a white paint “Museum Wasaka”. This museum stand on about one acre, consists of one piece is main building that shaped as Banjar house with bubungan tinggi and the other has function to be an office and home living, and on the right side of the museum there is a playground. It’s open  everyday from 08.30 am to 13.30 pm, and on Friday it’s open from 08.30 am to 10.30 am, except on holiday, if holiday it shut. But, if you want to come is outside from that hour, you can ask the security of the museum, because he always be there 24 hours. So, you can go there anytime you like. The museum is hosted in turns by some persons that appointed by the tourism agency, to monitor visitors coming by fill the guestbook. The museum does not charge fees to visitors who enter. But, if a pair of group is coming, sometime they have to pay just a little bit for cleaning cost. Especially for a group of elementary school, usually they throw the trash careless inside the museum eventhough museum provide a place for the trash. So, the money will give to the janitor. This is really effective and not expensive to get knowledge about history of Banjarmasin.

Wasaka museum is an interesting building because so many historic things were there. Although this museum is small, but it has about 400 historic things there. But, because the size of the museum is small, just some of the collections show there. Originally only seventy-seven pieces, now after almost 20 years have passed. The historic things that saved in the museum are always increase. This museum just saving history of the struggle of the Banjar fighters, either before or after independence. The history things are a set of wicker chars that in the past used by the fighters for discussion and arrange the strategy, also a marble desk that in the past used by Hasan Basry to wrote important letters, the walls decorated by photos of governor of South Kalimantan from the past until now. Entering the middle space that partitioned into three more historic objects on display, there are kitchen appliances such as plate, pan, and the cooking pot. There also typewriter, radio, and antique camera, bicycle frame, a ship machine, a replica of the original clothes and backpack belonging of Hasan Basry and furnance. There are also some pictures that shows the course of the battle, map showing the location of the battle. The most interesting is the collection of weapons such as sangkur, kapak, keris, sumpit, mandau, samurai and bambu runcing¸ the modern weapons also show there such as rifle and grenade. The fighters also rely on amulets, and special clothing which is believe have magical powers. So, if we want to see historic thing that have relation to the Banjar in the past, we can go to the wasaka museum.

But now, wasaka museum is underestimated by the Banjarist people itself, because someday I ever went there just want to see historic things, but I really  surprised because nobody was there, nobody visitors came there, and the most made me really surprised is the door was shut and padlock. So, I have to look  for the security and ask him to open the door. After about ten minutes, an old woman came to me and opened the padlock. I entered the museum about thirty minutes, the woman (security’s wife) talked to me that the door was padlock because in a long time nobody came there. This is really disappointing because wasaka is having historic things but nobodys care. When I went home, the door was shut and padlock again by the security. After we know what happen with wasaka museum right now, I think people that working in wasaka have to think how to make this building is more interesting.