Strengthening Research on Fishing Gear Collections with Kampung Tugu Community

On Wednesday, April 15, 2026, Koleksi Kita through SEAMS held a contextual consultation session with fishermen from Kampung Tugu. The session focused on enriching research and cataloging efforts for fishing gear collections at Jakarta Maritime Museum and Jakarta History Museum.

Kampung Tugu fishermen come from a historic area in North Jakarta, specifically Tugu in Cilincing. This session brought Arthur James Michiels, manager of the living museum Roemah Toegoe, and Gerrard Stefanus Sepang, an active fisherman from Kampung Tugu and a relative of Arthur.

Kampung Tugu was chosen as the consultation site because many of the fishing tools now kept in both museums actually originated from this area. Through this session, the SEAMS team aimed to gain a deeper understanding of how these tools were used in their original context.

The discussion highlighted how local fishermen still use tools similar to those in museum collections, such as kepis, jala (cast nets), bubu (fish traps), and ancok.

SEAMS team also brought along digitized photos of the collections to be reviewed directly with the participants. Some of the objects discussed included sero, bagan, kepis, tombak (spears), bubu, and serokan.

Arthur Michiels opened the session by sharing and showing fishing tools from the Roemah Toegoe collection, including bagan, nets, and kepis.

From the discussion, it became clear that fishing in Kampung Tugu is mostly subsistence-based-done for personal needs rather than for commercial purposes.

Fishing usually takes place from midday to late afternoon, as it is not the community’s main source of income. The fishermen also rely on local knowledge to read seasonal changes. For example, when dadap trees start to bloom, it signals crab spawning season, when crabs are typically fuller and carry more eggs.

Gerrard Stefanus Sepang then shared insights into current fishing practices. Today, fishermen tend to rely more on nets or waring, while some traditional tools are no longer widely used. Even so, tools like kepis are still in use. He also pointed out that jala are quite versatile, as they can be used in both ponds and open waters, covering a wider catch area.

At the moment, SEAMS cataloging team, through Koleksi Kita, is continuing to gather and process research findings related to fishing gear collections from both museums.

More stories behind these collections will soon be available through the Jakarta Digital Collections (JDC) platform, which is planned to launch in mid-2026.

This initiative is supported by the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, which supports the preservation of historic sites, cultural heritage, and museum collections, including traditional cultural practices in partner countries.