IN commemoration of the 175th anniversary of Russian scientist and explorer Nikolay Miklouho-Maclay, the Miklukho-Maclay Foundation recently launched the Miklukho-Maclay Online Museum.
It gives people an opportunity to travel virtually through a fascinating world discovered by him more than a hundred years ago.
Miklouho-Maclay (1846 to 1888) was a world-renowned humanist, scientist, traveller and public figure who explored Oceania, Australia and Southeast Asia, including Melaka and Java.
He had been to New Guinea several times, where he lived for some years until tropical fever forced him to abandon his life among the Papuans.
The scholar became interested in whether Melaka was inhabited by non-Malay tribes.
The solution of this question called for personal anthropological and ethnographic observations as researching scientific literature failed to supply any information on this subject.
Even in 1874, not a single European had visited many parts of the areas of his interest.
In the period up to the end of January 1875, Miklouho-Maclay made two trips to Melaka. He started off his first journey across Malaya from Johor.
He was lucky as Sultan Abu Bakar, the then ruler of Johor, had understood the importance of his research and supplied him with letters of recommendation, besides helping him to organise his scientific mission.
The Russian scholar encountered many difficulties. There were no roads then. The narrow rivers were often blocked by fallen trees; twining plants and branches formed dense thickets, which had to be hacked away to make way for the boat.
Miklukho-Maklay often suffered from fever. It was with gratitude he always recalled his Malay guides, whose courage and equanimity he admired.
Everywhere he went, he met with a friendly attitude on the part of the people, which enabled him to achieve great results in his work.
He collected anthropological and ethnographic material about tribes populating the hinterlands.
He managed to write down several tribal dialects that were dying out. His portraits of the indigenous, drawings of their homes, utensils and other items have been preserved.
His contributions in ethnography and physical anthropology were especially significant.
He disproved the racist views of some scientists at the time, who believed that the indigenous people (Papuans) of the Maclay Coast (Raicoast of Madang) and the Orang Asli of Melaka belonged to an intermediate link between human and animal.
His discovery was a crucial ideological legacy for all mankind on the equality of races and peoples, emphasising the unacceptability of violent suppression of cultures, the imposition of alien stereotypes, forced cultural integration and colonial policies.
The founder of the online museum is the director of the Mickluho Maclay Foundation, Nikolay Miklouho-Maclay, a descendant and namesake of the scientist.
He said the museum showcases the items that his ancestor collected 150 years ago (Visit http://mikluho-maclay.online/).
There is a detailed copy of the traveller's tropical apparel, the Maclay Coast model layout and a unique map with more than 150 points of his journey, telling the story of his travels.
In fact, the online museum materials are an educational resource that introduces Miklouho-Mac-lay's studies and his principles of respect for cultures and traditions to the younger generation.
There website also has collections of books and films, including articles prepared by specialists, pedagogues and scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences. All materials and information were thoroughly checked so they could be used by scientists or anyone interested in history, geography and travel.
The writer, writing from Russia, is a former lecturer of Universiti Malaya