Amarasi
Encyclopedia
Amarasi was a traditional princedom in West Timor
, in present-day Indonesia
. It had an important role in the political history of Timor
during the 17th and 18th century, being a client state
of the Portuguese
colonialists, and later subjected to the Netherlands East Indies.
, the traditional political navel of Timor in Belu
. A member of a local family, Nafi Rasi, accidentally broke a valuable bowl and was forced too flee the wrath of his siblings. With his followers he went to Beboki-Insana to the north of Wehali, and thence to the south coast of West Timor. There he founded a princedom with help of firearms that he had acquired in Beboki-Insana, which in turn lay close to the land of the Topasses
(Portuguese mestizo
population). Roaming groups from Belu arrived and strengthened the manpower of Nafi Rasi. In spite of its supposed Belunese origins, the population belonged to the Atoni
group, speaking a dialect
of Dawan
.
European sources confirm that Amarasi was a powerful domain in western Timor by the early 17th century. It was influenced by Catholicism
through Dominican
missionaries in the 1630s, and turned an important client of the Portuguese Topasses. In consequence, Amarasi fought the Dutch East Indies Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), which attempted to expand its power on Timor, attracted by the stands of commercially valuable sandalwood. A sizeable Dutch
expedition led by Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoorn (1656) was soundly defeated by Amarasi and the Topasses. For almost a century after this event, Amarasi remained a Portuguese vassal, during much of the time fighting the Timorese clients of the VOC in the Kupang
area in westermost Timor. This was a low-scale warfare that took the form of headhunting
raids. Amarasi was in fact counted as one of the principal props of Portuguese authority on Timor in this era.
By the 1820s, Amarasi consisted of three parts: Buwarein under the main ruler (Nai Jufa Naek), Talba, and Houmen, the latter two under district
lords (Nai Jufa). Later in the 19th century a further division resulted in five parts. The district lords were in practice the near-equals of the central ruler or raja
, and were in turn dependent on the various Amaf (local headmen). In 1930 the population of Amarasi was 16,832 people, and its area was an estimated 740 square kilometers. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia
(1942–1945) the raja of Amarasi, H.A. Koroh, was accused of collaborating with the Japan
ese, who recruited comfort women
and conscript labourers (romusha
) from the local population. After the Japanese capitulation in 1945, the raja kept a defiant attitude against the returning Dutch authorities. In the first years after the achievement of Indonesia
n independence
in 1949, the Amarasi princedom survived as a self-ruling territory or swapraja, until 1962, when the unitary Indonesian republic abolished traditional forms of governance in this region. Today Amarasi is included in the kabupaten (regency
) Kupang, and constitutes the kecamatan (districts) Amarasi, Amarasi Barat, Amarasi Selatan, and Amarasi Timur. The centre of the region is the village Baun, where the last residence of the former rajas can still be seen.
West Timor
West Timor is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, .During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution...
, in present-day Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It had an important role in the political history of Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
during the 17th and 18th century, being a client state
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
of the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colonialists, and later subjected to the Netherlands East Indies.
Early history
The origins of Amarasi are recounted in various legends. The oldest available version says that the dynastic line originated from WehaliWehali
Wehali is the name of a traditional kingdom at the southern coast of Central Timor, now in the Republic of Indonesia. It is often mentioned together with its neighbouring sister kingdom, as Wewiku-Wehali...
, the traditional political navel of Timor in Belu
Belu (province)
Belu was the Portuguese name for eastern part of Timor island, which included the kingdoms of Wehali, Lichisana and Suai-Cabanaza. In 1756 the western part of Belu and West Timor fell to the Dutch....
. A member of a local family, Nafi Rasi, accidentally broke a valuable bowl and was forced too flee the wrath of his siblings. With his followers he went to Beboki-Insana to the north of Wehali, and thence to the south coast of West Timor. There he founded a princedom with help of firearms that he had acquired in Beboki-Insana, which in turn lay close to the land of the Topasses
Topasses
Topasses were a group of people in maritime Asia in the early modern period, who claimed Portuguese ancestry or had taken up Portuguese culture and language. Topasses were found in the various places of South Asia and Southeast Asia which were frequented by the Portuguese, such as Goa, Malacca and...
(Portuguese mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
population). Roaming groups from Belu arrived and strengthened the manpower of Nafi Rasi. In spite of its supposed Belunese origins, the population belonged to the Atoni
Atoni
The Atoni are an ethnic group on Timor, in Indonesian West Timor and the East Timorese enclave of Oecussi-Ambeno. They number around 600,000. Their language is Uab Meto....
group, speaking a dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of Dawan
Uab Meto language
Uab Meto is an Austronesian language spoken by Atoni people of West Timor. The language has a variant spoken in the East Timorese exclave of Oecussi-Ambeno, called Baikenu...
.
European sources confirm that Amarasi was a powerful domain in western Timor by the early 17th century. It was influenced by Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
through Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
missionaries in the 1630s, and turned an important client of the Portuguese Topasses. In consequence, Amarasi fought the Dutch East Indies Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), which attempted to expand its power on Timor, attracted by the stands of commercially valuable sandalwood. A sizeable Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
expedition led by Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoorn (1656) was soundly defeated by Amarasi and the Topasses. For almost a century after this event, Amarasi remained a Portuguese vassal, during much of the time fighting the Timorese clients of the VOC in the Kupang
Kupang
Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia....
area in westermost Timor. This was a low-scale warfare that took the form of headhunting
Headhunting
Headhunting is the practice of taking a person's head after killing them. Headhunting was practised in historic times in parts of China, India, Nigeria, Nuristan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Micronesia, Melanesia, New Zealand, and the Amazon Basin, as...
raids. Amarasi was in fact counted as one of the principal props of Portuguese authority on Timor in this era.
Under Dutch rule
In 1749 the Amarasi soldiers were pushed to participate in a large-scale military campaign led by the Topasses against the Dutch in Kupang. In the resulting Battle of Penfui the Topasses were routed by the VOC forces, while Amarasi fled the field and subsequently submitted to the VOC. After a short time, in 1752, Amarasi attempted to withdraw from the new Dutch suzerainty, and rejoin the Portuguese camp. However, the princedom was badly defeated by the other Dutch clients, its king committed suicide and a large part of the manpower was killed or enslaved. The remaining Amarasi congregation was allowed after some years to settle in its old lands. From this point, the weakened princedom remained attached to Dutch interests until the 1940s.By the 1820s, Amarasi consisted of three parts: Buwarein under the main ruler (Nai Jufa Naek), Talba, and Houmen, the latter two under district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
lords (Nai Jufa). Later in the 19th century a further division resulted in five parts. The district lords were in practice the near-equals of the central ruler or raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
, and were in turn dependent on the various Amaf (local headmen). In 1930 the population of Amarasi was 16,832 people, and its area was an estimated 740 square kilometers. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia
Japanese Occupation of Indonesia
The Japanese Empire occupied Indonesia, known then as the Dutch East Indies, during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of War in 1945...
(1942–1945) the raja of Amarasi, H.A. Koroh, was accused of collaborating with the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese, who recruited comfort women
Comfort women
The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with numbers ranging from as low as 20,000 from some Japanese scholars to as high as 410,000 from some Chinese...
and conscript labourers (romusha
Romusha
were forced laborers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between four and 10 million romusha were forced to work by the Japanese military. About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas...
) from the local population. After the Japanese capitulation in 1945, the raja kept a defiant attitude against the returning Dutch authorities. In the first years after the achievement of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
in 1949, the Amarasi princedom survived as a self-ruling territory or swapraja, until 1962, when the unitary Indonesian republic abolished traditional forms of governance in this region. Today Amarasi is included in the kabupaten (regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
) Kupang, and constitutes the kecamatan (districts) Amarasi, Amarasi Barat, Amarasi Selatan, and Amarasi Timur. The centre of the region is the village Baun, where the last residence of the former rajas can still be seen.
List of rulers
- Dom António I d. 1665
- Dom Tomás 1665-? (brother)
- Dom António II mentioned 1688
- Dom Affonco mentioned 1703
- Dom Augusto Fernandes mentioned 1703
- Nai Soti mentioned 1714
- Dom Luís Hornay before 1749-1752
- Dom Affonco Hornay 1752-1774 (son)
- Don Rote Ruatefu 1774-1802 (son)
- Kiri Lote 1803-before 1832 (son)
- Koroh Kefi before 1832-1853
- Obe Koroh 1853-1871 (nephew)
- Rasi Koroh 1872-1887 (nephew)
- Taku Obe 1888-1891 (son of Obe Koroh)
- Rasi Koroh second time, 1892–1914
- Isaac Koroh 1914-1923 (brother)
- Alexander Koroh 1923-1925 (grandson of Rasi Koroh)
- Hendrik Arnold Koroh 1925-1951 (brother)
- Viktor Koroh 1951-1962 (son)