National Museum of Indonesia The Gedung Gajah located in the south side, or left from the entrance, is the old wing and the original museum structure which was built during colonial Dutch East Indies era. Popularly named as "gedung gajah" (Indonesian for elephant building) to refer the bronze elephant statue in front of the building, which was the gift of Siamese King Chulalongkorn. The museum collections are grouped and arranged by subjects: The National Museum of Indonesia has the richest and the largest collection of Hindu-Buddhist art of ancient Indonesia. The Hindu-Buddhist sculptures, relics and inscriptions was collected from Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo,
Culture of Indonesia Culture of Indonesia The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located along ancient trading routes between the Far East, South Asia and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam and Christianity, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures. Examples of the fusion of Islam with Hindu include Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha,