As I figured, designation as a “national hero” is usually a political decision, and here- that means fighting the Dutch. Of all the local people I asked today, 2 had a vague idea of anything he did. Unless I’m missing something, he is most known for struggling against the British & Dutch. That makes sense to me, as he rose & fell from the Sultan’s throne 4 times in 18 years as a result of British, then Dutch efforts to garner favor from different royal brothers. (1803-1811; 1813; 1819; 1821). He lost his final battle to the Dutch in 1821 and was exiled for the last 31 years of his life; and the Palembang Sultanate terminated in 1825. I must have missed the part of his glorious feats, because I still don’t understand why his name is elevated above all others here. Anyways…

We have our Paul Revere’s (famous for fighting the Brits), and John Hancock’s (famous for having a large & ornate signature).

$10 got me a driver for the rest of the day. First stop: the South Sumatra museum. I was happy to see a few more artifacts dating to the Srivijaya period (mostly Sanskrit inscriptions and a few Hindu statues), but it was something.

In the back was a full size replica of a traditional Limas house. It’s a wood house raised on stilts (dozen tree trunks piled into the marshy ground), oriented toward the river with tapered roof & 3 curved points resembling buffalo horns. The floorplan has 6 levels, all with specific significance; the 4th floor being the highest & most important.
Royal Limas homes used floral patters around the roof.
Commoners often lived in Gudang homes (resembling the Limas home without the stepped floorplan or flower décor).