Museum Maluku Review

Yesterday, I ventured over to the Museum Maluku, one of Utrecht's many museums. Since we purchased Museumkaarts shortly after our arrival, I've made it a personal goal to visit some of the more "off the beaten path" museums around Utrecht. This particular museum focuses on the Moluccan community in the Netherlands. Their mission statement sums up their purpose:

"Our mission is to collect, to preserve, to research and to present the material and immaterial heritage of the Moluccan community in the Netherlands. The museum carries out this mission by organizing exhibitions, conducting or ordering research, producing or co-producing events and shows, workshops and debates."

In case you aren't a geography buff and are wondering where Maluku or Molucca or whatever is, according to Wikipedia, "The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands) are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region."

The museum explained the relationship between the Maluku Islands and the Dutch, beginning with the arrival of the Dutch East-Indies Company in the 17th century. In 1951, over 12,500 Moluccans arrived in the Netherlands as part of the aftermath of the decolonization of Indonesia and the Maluku Islands. These interactions, among others, formed a strong connection, sometimes cooperative and sometimes contentious, between the Maluku Islands and the Netherlands. If you are interested, I would suggest reading the Wikipedia article, as it explains the connection much better than I can.

The museum wasn't large, but had a good variety of media, including artifacts brought back from the Maluku Islands, videos of Moluccans in the Netherlands, interactive exhibits using touch screen computers, and a great deal of photography. Even though the museum Web site provides all information in English, Dutch, and Indonesian (the default is actually English), other than a double-sided sheet of paper I picked up on the way into the museum, everything in the actual museum was only in Dutch. Although I was surprised at my ability to comprehend some of the Dutch descriptions (I guess my Dutch vocabulary has improved a little since we got here), I certainly didn't take away the same understanding as a native Dutch speaker.

Even though I didn't understand all of the information in the exhibits, walking through the museum and seeing the various videos and photographs did inspire me to learn a little more about the area. Once I got home, I opened up Wikipedia and tried to familiarize myself a little more with the Moluccan culture.

While I probably wouldn't recommend the museum to someone who was visiting for a week since the descriptions are all in Dutch and there are so many more places to visit, I certainly think it was a worthwhile stop for someone who is going to be in the area for a little longer. Elements of Moluccan culture can be found around the Netherlands, and this museum gives a little more background for those of us not so familiar with the specifics of Dutch history.