Buya Hamka's Birthplace Museum

Intellectual and Da'wah Footprints: The History of Buya Hamka's Birthplace Museum

Museum Rumah Kelahiran Buya Hamka is more than just an ordinary wooden building standing strong on the shores of Lake Maninjau. Located in Nagari Sungai Batang, Tanjung Raya District, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, this museum is a historical monument that records the starting point of the life journey of one of the most influential figures in the Islamic world and Indonesian literature, Prof. Dr. H. Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah, better known by his pen name Buya Hamka.

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Historical Origins and Establishment Period

The house that is now a museum was originally built on the land of Hamka's family. The original building stood long before Indonesia's independence, precisely serving as Hamka's birthplace on February 17, 1908. However, the physical journey of this building went through difficult times. During the Japanese occupation and the PRRI rebellion, the original house suffered severe damage, almost leveling it to the ground.

The initiative to revive the nation's collective memory through this house emerged in the late 1990s. Reconstruction began in 2000 by the Agam Regency Government with the assistance of donors and Buya Hamka's extended family. The museum was finally inaugurated on November 11, 2001, by the then Governor of West Sumatra, Zainal Bakar. Although it is a reconstruction, its shape and layout were designed to resemble the original form to preserve its historical value.

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Traditional Architecture and Construction Details

Architecturally, Museum Rumah Kelahiran Buya Hamka is a representation of a Rumah Gadang with the distinctive style of the Lake Maninjau coast. The building is a stilt house made of high-quality wood with a roof resembling buffalo horns (gonjong). One of its construction unique features is the use of wooden pegs instead of nails, reflecting local wisdom in dealing with potential earthquakes in the West Sumatra region.

The museum has nine rooms, each functioning to display different collections. The entrance stairs are at the front, leading visitors to a terrace that directly overlooks the panorama of Lake Maninjau. The floor is made of smoothly polished wooden planks, creating a warm and tranquil atmosphere. Inside, the high ceiling structure allows for good air circulation, maintaining humidity to prevent the collection of books and documents from deteriorating quickly.

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Historical Significance and Related Events

This site holds extraordinary significance because it is where Hamka's fundamental character was formed. He was the son of Dr. Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah (Haji Rasul), a reformist figure in Minangkabau Islam. In the Sungai Batang environment, young Hamka absorbed religious knowledge through the tradition of manitiak (learning in the surau) and the rich Minangkabau oral literature.

The historical events surrounding this place are inseparable from the Islamic reform movement (Muhammadiyah) in West Sumatra. Hamka's father made this area one of his da'wah bases. Therefore, this house was not just a residence, but a center of intellectual thought in its time. In this museum, visitors can see a replica of Hamka's bed, an old typewriter used to compose his great works such as Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wijck and Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah, and a wooden cane that always accompanied him in his old age.

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Figures and Memorabilia Collections

Besides the main figure of Buya Hamka, the museum also honors the intellectual network around him. The museum's collection includes over 600 titles of Hamka's works, including the phenomenal Tafsir Al-Azhar, much of which he wrote while in political detention during the Old Order era. Black and white photographs adorning the museum walls tell of Hamka's close relationships with national figures like Soekarno, Mohammad Hatta, and Islamic leaders in the Middle East.

A unique fact preserved in this museum is the collection of robes and togas Hamka received when he was awarded honorary doctorates from Al-Azhar University, Egypt (1958) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1974). This confirms that from this stilt house on the edge of a remote lake, emerged an internationally recognized thinker.

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Preservation and Restoration Efforts

As a Cultural Heritage Site, Museum Rumah Kelahiran Buya Hamka is under the supervision of the Cultural Preservation Center Region III. The Agam Regency Government regularly maintains the wooden structure of the building to prevent decay and termite infestation. The last major restoration was carried out to strengthen the foundation structure and repair the leaking roof gonjong.

Preservation efforts are not limited to the physical building but also include the digitization of documents. Several of Hamka's sermon manuscripts and personal letters have begun to be digitized to prevent the loss of historical data due to the age of the paper. The involvement of the local community in maintaining the cleanliness and security of the museum is also key to the sustainability of this site.

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Cultural and Religious Importance

For the Minangkabau people and Muslims in Indonesia, this museum is a symbol of the "Literary Scholar-Cleric." It proves that religion and art can go hand in hand. Its location near Masjid Raya Ummi Hamka adds to the religious aura of this site. The museum often becomes a destination for intellectual pilgrimage for researchers from Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore who wish to study the roots of Nusantara Islamic thought.

The existence of this museum also strengthens the cultural identity of the Agam community. The philosophy of Adat Basandi Syarak, Syarak Basandi Kitabullah is strongly felt here, where Minangkabau adat architecture serves as a vessel for the struggle of Islamic propagation. By visiting this museum, the younger generation can learn about the integrity, humility, and steadfastness of principles of a figure like Hamka—a man who, despite being imprisoned by his own nation, still forgave and even led the funeral prayer for his jailer.