Reconstruction and Restoration of Monuments as a part of City Identity Formation: Case Study of Teuku Umar’s Kupiah Meuketop Monument in Meulaboh City, Indonesia

Abstract

Teuku Umar’s Kupiah Meuketop Monument is the structure endorsed by the Meulaboh City government to represent the city as the land of Teuku Umar. Initially, the Dutch colonizers built the monument to celebrate the killing of Teuku Umar, a hero of the independence rebellion in Aceh. However, after Indonesia’s independence, it was structurally and conceptually reconstructed by the local government and an NGO to foster the formation of city identity. How did the process change the monumentality of the structures? To answer this inquiry, semi-structured interviews and field observation was conducted to perform an analysis of the responses by the Meulaboh City residents and government officials toward the monument. As a result, the responses from the residents showed positive recognition and integration towards the reconstructed and restored monument as intended by the government officials. The study significantly contributes to the scholarship of identity formation boosted by monument construction in Indonesia.