Amarasi
Amarasi ( Amanassa ) was an empire in southwest Timor .
history
According to legend, the ruling family came from Wehale , the traditional and cultural center of Timor. Accordingly, Nafi Rasi , a member of the ruling family there, broke a valuable cup and had to flee from the revenge of his brothers. With his companions, Nafi Rasi went to Beboki-Insana , a northern kingdom that was in contact with the Topasse . After receiving firearms here, Nafi Rasi went to the southwest coast and founded the empire of Amarasi here. Homeless groups from the east of the island strengthened the empire. In the course of time, the Amarasi, who originally spoke Tetum , adopted the language of their neighbors, the Uab Meto of the Atoin Meto . However, the Amarasi is still considered a separate dialect of the Uab Meto.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Amarasi was one of the most loyal and important allies of the colonial power Portugal against the Dutch East India Company (VOC). From the 1630s they were converted to the Catholic faith by Dominicans . When other rulers ( Liurai ) fell from the Portuguese, they sent allied Timorese warriors, such as those from Amarasi.
In 1656 the Topasse and Amarasi destroyed a Dutch military expedition under Arnold de Vlaming van Oudshoorn , forcing the Dutch to abandon the newly conquered fortress of Kupang . In 1678 Raja Ama Besi of Kupang allied himself with the Amarasi to attack the successor to his throne, who was supported by the VOC. In 1688 the VOC finally succeeded in conquering the coastal town of Kupang. Together with the five empires allied with them (the "five loyal allies") they only held a small region in the far west of Timor. The kingdoms of Amarasi and Amanuban , allied with Portugal and the Topasse , respectively, faced further expansion . Again and again they attacked the Timorese allies of the Dutch. The headhunting had a long tradition in Timor.
When the Portuguese and Topasse were defeated by the Dutch on November 9, 1749 at the Battle of Penfui , several Timorese rulers changed sides, including that of Amarasi. But according to Dutch sources, Catholic priests worked with "the most beautiful promises" and "the darkest threats" to bring Amarasi back to Portugal's side. It succeeded, but in 1752 Hans Albrecht von Plüskow , the German commander of Kupang in the Dutch service, attacked the renegade rulers and defeated them. When the Liurai of Amarasi was surrounded by the Dutch, he let himself and all women and children be killed by his own people. Over a hundred people died. Amarasi has remained in the Dutch sphere of influence ever since.
In the 1820s Amarasi was divided into three areas: Buwarein , under the leadership of the ruler, and Talba and Houmen under two district princes , the so-called Nai Jufa . These were almost equal to the Raja, but had to rely on the local dignitaries ( Amaf ). In 1930, 16,832 people lived in Amarasi, covering an area of 740 km².
Raja Hendrik Arnold Koroh is accused of collaborating with the Japanese during the Japanese occupation in World War II . The Japanese recruited unskilled workers from the population and forced women into prostitution. After the Japanese surrendered, the Raja resisted the return of the Dutch colonial rulers and campaigned for Indonesia's independence movement , as did his son and successor Viktor Koroh . Until 1962, Amarasi, like the other empires, remained a self-governing territory ( swapraja ). Only then were these traditional ruling structures abolished.
Amarasi today
Amarasi is now in the government district of Kupang and is divided into the Kecamatan (districts) Amarasi , Ostamarasi ( Amarasi Timur ), Südamarasi ( Amarasi Selatan ) and Westamarasi ( Amarasi Barat ). There are also a few Helong living in the region, originally from the island of Semau .
The royal family
There is still a Raja from Amarasi today . The original title of the ruler was Nai Jufa Naikh ( Nai Jufa Naek ) - The Great King. Raja Robert M. Koroh of Amarasi is the son of the last ruling Raja, Viktor Koroh. The family comes from the Djawa dynasty of the Seba Empire on the island of Sawu . Isaac Koroh (1914-1923) had no direct heir, which is why Alexander Koroh , his great-nephew of Sawu, was appointed as his successor. The crown plate on the Raja's turban is an heirloom of the kingdom of Seba, but is worn according to Timorese tradition.
Raja Robert M. Koroh is married to Mira S. Syah , the daughter of the Sultan of Ternate and the North Moluccas . Their eldest son is the Crown Prince: Raja Muda Michael .
The palace is in Baun .
List of rulers until 1962
- António I († 1665)
- Tomás (1665–?), Brother
- António II (mentioned 1688)
- Affonco (mentioned in 1703)
- Augusto Fernandes (mentioned in 1703)
- Nai Soti (mentioned 1714)
- Luís Hornay (before 1749–1752)
- Affonco Hornay (1752-1774), son
- Red Ruatefu 1774–1802 (son)
- Kiri Lote (1803 – before 1832), son
- Koroh Kefi (before 1832-1853)
- Obe Koroh (1853–1871), nephew
- Rasi Koroh (1871-1887), nephew
- Taku Obe (1888–1891), son of Obe Koroh
- Rasi Koroh (second term, 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
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Geerloff Heijmering: Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van Timor. Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indë 9: 3 (1847)
- ↑ Arend de Roever: De jacht op sandelhout . Zutphen: Walburg Pers 2002, pp. 260–3.
- ↑ James J. Fox: The Paradox of Powerlessness: Timor in Historical Perspective. ( Memento of August 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) December 9, 1996, Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. (PDF; 70 kB)
- ↑ a b c Hans Hägerdal: Rebellions or factionalism? Timorese forms of resistance in an early colonial context, 1650-1769. ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ HG Schulte Nordholt: The Political System of the Atoni of Timor. 1971, pp. 155, pp. 319-320.
- ↑ S. Farram: From 'Timor Koepang' to 'Timor NTT': The Political History of West Timor, 1901-1967. PhD Thesis, Northern Territory University, 2003, pp. 227, 240-241.
- ↑ a b c d Royal Timor: Amarasi ( Memento from November 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ LJ van Dijk: De zelfbesturende landschappen in de Residentie Timor en Onderhoorigheden. In: Indian Gids. 47 (1925) and 56 (1934).
Coordinates: 9 ° 49 ′ S , 124 ° 28 ′ E