Monas, a Memorial Monument That is Full of Indonesian Cultural Dimensions

Foreign tourists in the Monas Area, Jakarta, Indonesia.

INDEPHEDIA.com - The National Monument (Monas), called Tugu Monas, whose construction officially began on August 17, 1961, is a 132 meter or 433 foot memorial monument that was erected to commemorate the resistance and struggle of the Indonesian people in seizing independence from the Dutch East Indies colonial government.

The construction of this monument on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta was under the orders of the first Indonesian President, Ir Sukarno, and was opened to the public on July 12, 1975. The monument was crowned with flames coated with gold which symbolized a burning spirit of struggle.

When first made, the gold used to coat the flame has a weight of 35 kilograms. But, in 1995 when Indonesia celebrated the anniversary of independence gold, which is 50 years, the gold layer was added up to 50 kilograms.

The development of the National Monument consists of three stages between the period 1961 / 1962-1964 / 1965. The design of Tugu Monas is based on the concept of an eternal universal partner; Lingga and Yoni. Lingga and Yoni are symbols of fertility and harmonious unity that complement each other from the prehistoric period of Indonesia.

The towering obelisk monument is a phallus that symbolizes men, a masculine element that is active and positive, and symbolizes daylight. While the court plate of the obelisk is Yoni which symbolizes women, passive and negative feminine elements, and symbolizes the night.

In addition, the shape of the Monas Monument can also be interpreted as a pair of "pestle" and "Lesung", a rice pounder found in every traditional Indonesian farmer household. Thus the design of Monas is full of distinctive dimensions of Indonesian culture. Monas also a National Library with a total of 24 floors and three basements is the highest library building in the world. (SJ.IN/ENG/*)