Residents
of Koto Baru Hiang village in Kerinci district, Jambi, said on Friday that they
had unearthed a veritable treasure trove of World War II-era money from an old
safe.
Ahmad
Nasril, the village head, said the discovery was made when the safe, which had
been sitting unused in the village hall as long as anyone could remember, was
opened during recent renovation work.
“The safe
had always just been hidden away in a room in the village hall that people
believed was haunted by a ghost, because it was always so dark,” he said.
The safe’s
rediscovery 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 a
section of the ceiling that had collapsed in the very room where the safe was
located.
“When we
finally brought the safe out into the light of day, we used the chance to prize
it open,” Nasril said. “That’s when we found several bundles of old money from
the Japanese colonial era.”
The
Japanese occupation of Indonesia lasted from 1942 until the end of the war in
1945.
Nasril said
that while the money did not bear any dates for when it was printed, it could
be tracked to the Japanese occupation because it read: “ De Japansche Regeering
Betaalt Toonder Half Gulden ,” or “The Japanese Government Will Pay the Bearer
Half a Guilder.”
However, he
said the total value of the money remained unknown because many of the notes
had been damaged by mold, attributed to a half-century of humidity and
rainwater leaking into the safe.
Nasril said
the safe also contained documents with the old Indonesian spelling, including a
notice decreeing the implementation of a livestock tax, dated July 1, 1947.
“This
particular document shows just how compliant the Kerinci people were about
paying taxes back then, even if it was to an occupying authority,” he said.
The village
hall had been used as an administrative office by the Dutch, who reoccupied the
archipelago shortly after the Japanese left in 1945. Later it was used as a
center for the traditional rulers of the district.
Nasril said
the money and documents would be stored at his house for safekeeping while the
Kerinci administration was notified about the discovery.
“This is
clearly a very significant find for us, especially coming so close to
Independence Day, when we look back at our history,” he said.
Antara
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