Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and Music: Archives as Guardians of Cultural Continuity in Indonesia

Abstract This paper reflects on the Music Archive of Monash University’s (MAMU) experiences working in Aceh and Lampung, Indonesia and the ways they inform our practices when closely liaising with communities at risk of disaster. To support local cultural continuity and revitalization, and especially in the wake of the 2004 tsunami and the 2018 volcanic eruption respectively, MAMU became an early proponent of making digital repositories freely available online. As technology has progressed, so too have MAMU’s efforts to engage with and support the cultural preservation of its collections’ source communities. One of the archive’s latest projects includes the creation of detailed 3D scans of historical musical instruments in the collection, potentially enabling instrument makers to discover previously lost construction techniques. This paper will explore some of the many ways that archives such as MAMU can be used to support cultural continuity in areas experiencing trauma and upheaval.