Residentsof Koto Baru Hiang village in Kerinci district, Jambi, said on Friday that theyhad unearthed a veritable treasure trove of World War II-era money from an oldsafe.
AhmadNasril, the village head, said the discovery was made when the safe, which hadbeen sitting unused in the village hall as long as anyone could remember, wasopened during recent renovation work.
“The safehad always just been hidden away in a room in the village hall that peoplebelieved was haunted by a ghost, because it was always so dark,” he said.
The safe’srediscovery came after the village received funding to renovate the hall,itself a relic of the Dutch colonial era. Part of the work involved fixing up asection of the ceiling that had collapsed in the very room where the safe waslocated.
“When wefinally brought the safe out into the light of day, we used the chance to prizeit open,” Nasril said. “That’s when we found several bundles of old money fromthe Japanese colonial era.”
TheJapanese occupation of Indonesia lasted from 1942 until the end of the war in1945.
Nasril saidthat while the money did not bear any dates for when it was printed, it couldbe tracked to the Japanese occupation because it read: “ De Japansche RegeeringBetaalt Toonder Half Gulden ,” or “The Japanese Government Will Pay the BearerHalf a Guilder.”
However, hesaid the total value of the money remained unknown because many of the noteshad been damaged by mold, attributed to a half-century of humidity andrainwater leaking into the safe.
Nasril saidthe safe also contained documents with the old Indonesian spelling, including anotice decreeing the implementation of a livestock tax, dated July 1, 1947.
“Thisparticular document shows just how compliant the Kerinci people were aboutpaying taxes back then, even if it was to an occupying authority,” he said.
The villagehall had been used as an administrative office by the Dutch, who reoccupied thearchipelago shortly after the Japanese left in 1945. Later it was used as acenter for the traditional rulers of the district.
Nasril saidthe money and documents would be stored at his house for safekeeping while theKerinci administration was notified about the discovery.
“This isclearly a very significant find for us, especially coming so close toIndependence Day, when we look back at our history,” he said.
Antara
No comments:
Post a Comment