Two Dieng Heritage Sites Proposed for National-Level Cultural Heritage Status
- 03 Sep 2026 22:15 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Poin Utama
- The Mangulihi Inscription and Nandisawahanamurti Statue at Kailasa Museum, Dieng, have been proposed for National-Level Cultural Heritage status in 2026.
- The rare statue is considered evidence of the cultural, architectural, and intellectual achievements of the Dieng community in the past.
RRI.CO.ID, Banjarnegara - The Mangulihi Inscription and the Nandisawahanamurti Statue at Kailasa Museum in Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java, have officially been proposed for designation as National-Level Cultural Heritage for 2026. The presence of this rare human-bodied bull statue, along with ancient records on the management of places of worship, serves as strong evidence of the high levels of literacy and civilization among the Dieng community in the past.
Chairperson of the Banjarnegara Cultural Heritage Expert Team (TACB), Heni Purwono, said both artifacts located at Kailasa Museum in Dieng have been submitted for national cultural heritage status.
“Thank God, the Mangulihi Inscription and the Nandisawahanamurti Statue, both in Dieng at Kailasa Museum, have been proposed this year to become national cultural heritage,” he said in Banjarnegara on Thursday, 3 September 2026.
He said the Mangulihi Inscription holds significant value as it demonstrates a well-organized system for managing places of worship in the past. According to him, the existence of the inscription also reflects the literacy capabilities of the community at that time.
Meanwhile, the Nandisawahanamurti Statue has a unique form, depicting a bull with a human body as the vehicle (vahana) or mount of the Hindu deity Shiva. This statue form is rarely found and indicates that Dieng in the past already possessed excellence in culture, architecture, and knowledge.
“This is rare and shows how Dieng in the past already had cultural, architectural, and certainly high knowledge excellence, making it highly worthy of national cultural heritage status,” he said as reported by Antara.
He expressed hope that proposing these two artifacts would serve as an initial step toward gaining national recognition for more cultural heritage sites in Banjarnegara. Looking ahead, TACB aims to include dozens of additional local sites on the designation list.
“The Dieng temple complex hasn’t [been designated] yet. Even the State Palace was only designated this year. So going forward, we will push hard and target dozens of our cultural heritage sites to reach national level,” he said.
In addition to the temples and statues in Dieng, the Banjarnegara TACB also plans to propose the Bandjar Tjahjana Werken Dam and its irrigation network for national-level status. The proposal also includes the Serajoedal Stoomtram Maatschappij (SDS) railway network. “We will work hard on that,” said Heni.
Culture Minister, Fadli Zon, said in a media briefing on the designation of National Cultural Heritage in Jakarta on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, that many cultural heritage sites still need to be designated as national-level cultural heritage.
According to him, designated cultural heritage sites need to be strengthened in terms of information, security, and utilization, including through the use of barcodes and surveillance cameras, and prioritized for revitalization.
To date, as of August 2026, the Ministry of Culture has designated 1,485 national-level cultural heritage sites. “Going forward, these designated national cultural heritage sites must be rebranded and reinformed,” said Minister Fadli Zon. ***
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