Database of Southeast Asian Sociocultural Information

Brunei is a small country where its national institutes are in a capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan. Important museums are in Kota Batu, Brunei-Maura District. The biggest famous museum is National Museum of Brunei Darussalam located in the same area as six other museums: Malay Technology Museum, The Royal Regalia Museum, Art Gallery, Bubungan Dua Belasor House of Twelve Roofs, National Archives of Brunei and Brunei Arts and Handicrafts Training Center (BAHTC). These institutes provide valuable information about Archeology, Ethnology, Islamic arts, Crown Jewels of the Sultan of Brunei, Technology, Natural History and Petroleum Industry (Marilyn Seow and Laura Jeanne Gobal,Editors, 2004:14).

Each of the museums displays different artifacts and stories according to its establishment purposes.

The Brunei Museum

The Brunei Museum in Bandar Seri Begawan is the oldest and biggest museum in the country. The display illustrates history, local culture, natural environment and industry. It was founded in 1965, but officially opened in February 29, 1072 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom (Marilyn Seow and Laura Jeanne Gobal,Editors, 2004:14) when Brunei was a British protectorate. Brunei became a sovereign state in 1984 (จรัญ มะลูลีม, 2557:1). This museum has six different sections.

1. Islamic Gallery

Islamic Gallery displays invaluable antiques and collectibles of the Bruneian Sultans over 1,500 items ranging from the transition before Islamic invasion to 19^th century. The artifacts cover both religious and secular lives such as ancient coins, glassware, ironware, pottery, weapons, tools and science tools (Marilyn Seow and Laura Jeanne Gobal,Editors, 2004:14).

2. Oil and Gas Gallery

This section features oil and gas history of Brunei. These natural resources marked this small country up to one of the wealthiest nations on earth with national income mainly from having exported oil and natural gas since 1930 (สถาบันเอเชียศึกษา จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, 2558:128).

3.Natural History Gallery

The display in this section illustrates Brunei’s Natural History featuring various kinds of plants and animals such as mammal, poultry, amphibian and insects presented with 3D-habitat projection (Learning Getting to Know ASEAN Better, 2015).

4. Brunei Traditional Cultures Gallery

This section displays the Bruneian-Malay people’s culture and ways of life from birth, youth to marriage, furniture and facilities such as brass supplies, wooden furniture and weapons as well as folk plays.

5.Archeology and History of Brunei Gallery

This section features pre-historic archelogy and history of Brunei covering Neolithic tools, migration, discoveries in Brunei and Royal History of Bruneian Sultans. The exhibit includes a great amount of gold from Limbang in Sarawak, Malaysia aged between 13^th to 16^thcentury signifying Hindu beliefs in Brunei (Marilyn Seow and Laura Jeanne Gobal,Editors, 2004:16).