The Selayar kettle drum: Nekara, its disputed discovery and the giant anchors

By Selayar Island Editorial Desk

The Selayar kettle drum, or Nekara, is a large ancient drum attributed to the Dongson culture. Kompas gives a height of 92 cm, a 126 cm striking surface and a date of 300 BC, and reports it as claimed to be among the largest in the world. Its discovery is disputed: Kompas says 1868, The Jakarta Post says 1686.

What is the Selayar kettle drum?

It is an ancient drum known as the Nekara, and it anchors most published accounts of Selayar's early history. You may also see it as the Selayar kettledrum, the giant drum or the Dongson drum. Kompas attributes it to the Dongson culture. Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism calls it the Dongson Kettledrum and describes it in stronger terms than any other source here.

Its decoration is the part best suited to a visitor with a little patience. According to The Jakarta Post, the drum carries 16 elephants, 54 birds, 11 betel trees and 18 fish, with four frogs on top. That inventory comes from a single newspaper report, so counting for yourself, if the drum is on view, is a fair test.

How old and how big is it?

The sources do not agree on age or on rank, though they are close enough to compare directly.

On age, 300 BC and 2,000 years old may be two ways of rounding the same idea, but they are not the same figure, and neither source shows how it was reached. On size, the gap matters more. Kompas reports a claim to be among the largest, while the ministry states flatly that it is the largest. Neither gives the measurements of any rival drum, so there is nothing here to settle it with. Calling it one of the largest claimed is the most this evidence supports, and the ministry's stronger wording is best read as promotion by a tourism body until someone publishes the comparison.

Who found it and when?

Kompas says farmers found the Nekara in 1868 in Papanlohea while clearing a plantation. The Jakarta Post says a farmer found it in 1686 in Papaniohea. The two accounts tell the same basic story and differ on the year by nearly two centuries.

The figures look alike, so a slip somewhere in the chain of retelling is possible. That is only our inference, and we do not choose between the two. Kompas is the more recent report, but being recent does not make it correct. The place name also varies by a single letter, and that does look like a printing or copying difference. It would help if a museum label or a catalogue settled the matter, so a photograph of any such label is welcome through the contact details below.

Where can you see it?

Kompas places the Museum Nekara 300 m from the find site and says it holds Chinese ceramics of the 8th to 15th centuries. Those ceramics matter in their own right, since they point to trade reaching Selayar long before the Dutch period. Journey Beyond the Horizon, a travel blog dated October 2025, describes a Tanadoang (Nekara) museum in Benteng, in a traditional Selayarese house with a mangrove garden beside it, and gives hours of 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, closed on Sundays, with a small entrance fee. That is one blog's report, and we found no street address. Before you go out of your way:

• Ask in Benteng, the island's main town, whether the museum is open that day and who holds the key.
• Confirm that the drum Kompas measures is the one on view, as the blog mentions only a traditional nekara drum among the exhibits.
• Find out whether a local guide can explain the collection in a language you share.
• Keep some cash in small notes in case there is a donation box or a fee.

Combining it with other stops makes the trip more worthwhile. The page on things to do in Selayar Island shows what else sits along the way.

What are the giant anchors of Padang?

These are the island's second signature objects. Kompas says two large anchors and three cannons from the 17th century at Kampung Padang come from a Chinese merchant ship, and that they are kept at the Giant Anchor Museum in Bontosunggu, Bontoharu district. Britannica places Padang on the western coast.

The regency's tourism master plan is more specific. It attributes the anchors to a named merchant of the late 17th century and gives shank lengths of 226 cm and 229 cm. So the plan and Kompas agree on the century and on a merchant's ship, and the plan adds the measurements. Take the merchant's story as a reported attribution and not as a proven record.

What can be measured is the scale: each shank is longer than a tall person, and that alone makes the objects worth a stop if you are on that side of the island. Ask a driver how far it is from Benteng, and ask locally about museum hours.

Why do these objects matter?

Together they show that Selayar was on a major shipping route. A maritime historian quoted by Kompas argues that spice ships bound for Maluku had to pass the Selayar Strait, the safest route, and stopped for water, supplies and repairs. Kompas also says a 1365 Javanese text records the island as visited by trading ships, and that Selayar became contested between Makassar and Ternate before falling under Ternate, the Dutch ally, after the Makassar War of 1666 to 1669.

The evidence continues underwater. A 2022 Atlantis Press paper reports six locations with archaeological finds in Selayar waters: ceramics, coins, shipwrecks, bottle fragments and anchors. Tempo reported in 2021 that a fisheries ministry official named sunken-vessel heritage as a marine tourism asset for the islands. A drum, two anchors, a collection of ceramics and those underwater finds all point in the same direction, even though each is a separate strand. The page on Selayar Island history follows the thread from there through the copra years.

What else do people ask about the drum?

What is the Selayar Nekara Museum?

Kompas describes the Museum Nekara as standing 300 m from the place where the drum was found and holding Chinese ceramics of the 8th to 15th centuries. A 2025 travel blog gives hours of 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, closed on Sundays. Confirm in Benteng before setting out.

How large is the Selayar kettledrum?

Kompas gives a height of 92 cm and a striking surface of 126 cm. Those two numbers rest on one report.

When was the Selayar drum discovered?

Kompas says 1868 and The Jakarta Post says 1686, and we do not choose between them.

Who discovered the Selayar kettle drum?

Kompas says farmers clearing a plantation, and The Jakarta Post says a farmer. Neither report names anyone.

Is the Selayar kettledrum the world's largest?

The Ministry of Tourism says so. Kompas says only that it is claimed as one of the largest. Neither gives a comparison with other drums, so treat the title as a claim.

What does the Selayar kettledrum depict?

According to The Jakarta Post, it is decorated with 16 elephants, 54 birds, 11 betel trees and 18 fish, with four frogs on top.

Which sources support this page?

• Kompas: traces of the spice route in Selayar, 2023
• The Jakarta Post: Selayar Islands, 2016
• Indonesia Ministry of Tourism: Selayar
• Regency tourism master plan (RIPPARKAB 2023-2025)
• Britannica: Selayar
• Atlantis Press: underwater archaeology in Selayar waters, 2022
• Tempo: Selayar Islands to develop shipwreck tourism, 2021
• Journey Beyond the Horizon (travel blog, October 2025): Selayar Island guide

How do I reach the desk?

If a museum label, a catalogue or a local record settles the discovery date, the desk would like to see it. Trip questions go to the same place: WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or bd@juaraholding.com. A paid booking can follow a request, and about this guide sets out how.