Cempaka Culture and Tourism: From Jakarta's ‘Bule Gila’ Barman To Collector of Old Indonesian Maps

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Monday, January 11, 2010

From Jakarta's ‘Bule Gila’ Barman To Collector of Old Indonesian Maps

Jakarta Globe, Tasa Nugraza Barley

Bartele Santema, above, a successful Jakarta pub owner, is now selling old maps of Indonesia above CazBar in Mega Kuningan. (JG Photos/Tasa Nugraza Barley)

If you’re a foreigner and have lived in Jakarta long enough, chances are, you would have found your way into one of Dutchman Bartele Santema’s popular bars on a random evening.

He first opened the popular BuGils pub in Jakarta in 2000. The initial venture, which now has a branch in Bali, has expanded into other popular Jakarta hangouts CazBar, Eastern Promise, De Hooi and One Tree.

But after having spent a decade in the bar business listening to other people talk about their cares all night, Santema wanted a change of scene.

The yearning for something different prompted him to open Bartele Gallery on Dec. 21, right above CazBar in Mega Kuningan.

“The condition outside the city is very chaotic,” Santema said.

“People need a place like this. When you travel to a city, the first place you want to go to is a map store.”

Santema claims that his gallery — which sells antique maps, prints and books and where visitors can relax and have a cup of coffee while enjoying old collections — is the first and only one of its kind in the country.

The gallery is also gearing itself to become a casual meeting place where professionals can hang out and swap stories.

The barman has been in Indonesia for a total of 20 years now. He decided to seek adventure in the islands because he was bored milking cows and riding horses at his father’s ranch in the Netherlands.

When he arrived in Indonesia, he was employed for the first 10 years before deciding to open his own business.

His two decades of living in the islands has resulted in a book, “Bule Gila: Tales of Dutch Barman in Jakarta,” published in 2005 by Equinox Publishing.

The phrase bule gila translates to crazy foreigner. In the book, he provides funny and interesting anecdotes from doing business as a foreigner in Jakarta.

Although not claiming to be an expert, Santema said he was an avid fan of old and historical items.

He said that for his gallery, he decided to focus on antique maps because almost all cities in the world have map stores except for Indonesia.

Santema said that although he wasn’t really proud of his country’s history in Indonesia, the Netherlands has made quite a lot of good maps of the archipelago.

When the Dutch occupied Indonesia, the Netherlands had the world’s best mapmakers at the time and a lot of the maps made were of the islands.

“Four hundred years ago, Indonesia was a very important place in the trading world because this country exported lots of spices to the rest of the world, especially Europe,” Santema said. He explained that maps of Indonesia, mostly Java Island, were produced because of this significance.

Santema said that making a profit was not Bartele Gallery’s primary concern. Mostly, the gallery wants to increasing people’s awareness of history.

Santema said he was saddened by the fact that most Indonesians were not interested in their country’s history, and he is hoping that through the gallery, this may possibly change.

“I hope that through my gallery more people will want to appreciate museums and old buildings in Jakarta and Indonesia,” he said.

The gallery acquired its collection through the barman’s personal connections and through auctions.

He has spent a lot of time on the phone and online to hunt down specific maps that he wanted to acquire.

The gallery’s current collection include Hereford Mappa Mundi, a world map that was originally made in the 13th century and reproduced in the 19th century. Santema said that only 100 19th century reproductions of this map are in existence.

A 500-year-old map of Southeast Asia can also be found at the gallery. “This is a very limited edition and it’s still in perfect condition,” he said.

In addition, one can also find old prints showing pictures of buildings and natural sceneries made by artists J.W. Heydt in the 1740s and C.W.M. Van de Velde in the 1840s.

The maps in the collection are priced according to its value. The low-end starts at $20 while the expensive ones can be as much as $7,000.

Santema said he has received positive responses all around from people about his venture and that he would see to it that his gallery is filled with new items.