Rumah Budaya

Banda Islands


Bandaneira’s little museum displays colonial artefacts including coins, silverware, crockery, pipes, swords and flintlock pistols and muskets. There's also a smattering of Bandanese stuff, including the parang (machete) and kapsete (helmet) used in the Cakalele (the warrior dance once performed by up to 50 young males that went underground following the 1621 massacre). The caretaker Iqbal or his wife Ibu Feni have the key. They live 200m north of the museum on the same side of the street.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Banda Islands attractions

1. Mesjid Hatta-Syahrir

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Behind the main port are the eye-catching minarets of the Mesjid Hatta-Syahrir. Some locals claim this was converted into a mosque from the mansion that…

2. Sun Tien Kong Chinese Temple

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There are still a few Chinese families living on Bandaneira and the 300-year-old Sun Tien Kong Temple is testament to the ancient Chinese involvement in…

3. Dutch Church

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This restored 1852 Dutch church with a portico of four chubby columns is open for services. Inside are a decorative bell-clock and wooden pews, as well as…

4. Benteng Belgica

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A classic star fort, the Unesco-nominated Benteng Belgica was built on the hill above Benteng Nassau in 1611, when it became apparent the lower bastion…

5. Benteng Nassau

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Quietly crumbling among tropical foliage, Nassau was the scene of the Banda Massacre, the greatest obscenity in the violent history of Dutch Banda. The…

6. Hatta’s House

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Of three early-20th-century ‘exile houses’ in Banda, Mohammed Hatta’s house is the most appealing. It’s partly furnished and photos of the dissident, his…

7. Istana Mini

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This grand, atmospheric yet empty 1820s mansion gives a sense of the scale of the Dutch enterprise in the Banda Islands. Once the residence of the…

8. Schelling House

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This massive columned house, owned by the daughter of the last Banda king, has a leafy courtyard, high ceilings and, in the the master bathroom, a stone…