Marta Christina Tijahahu

Martha Christina Tiahahu

Statue of Tijahahu in Ambon

Marta Christina Tijahahu (born January 4, 1800 on Nusa Laut , † January 2, 1818 on the Banda Sea ) was a Moluccan freedom fighter and national heroine of Indonesia .

She was the daughter of a captain and was active in the military from a young age. At the age of 17 she entered the war waged by the rebel leader Pattimura against the Dutch colonial government and fought in several battles. In December 1817 she was captured and sent to Java to do slave labor. On the way there, she fell ill and died on the transport ship that was sailing across the Banda Sea at the time after she refused medical treatment.

Tijahahu is seen as a national hero in Indonesia; she is remembered on the day of her death by a public holiday. She was also honored with two statues, one in Ambon and the other in the village of Abubu on Nusa Laut . A warship, a road, a Moluccan social organization and a women's magazine were also named after her.

biography

Tijahahu was born on January 4, 1800 in the village of Abubu on the island of Nusa Laut in what is now Maluku . Her father was captain Paulus Tijahahu of the Soa Uluputi clan. Marta's mother died while her daughter was in infancy, and she was raised by her father. As a child, she sometimes accompanied him in planning attacks.

From 1817, she and her father fought a guerrilla war against the Dutch colonial government. They also support Pattimura's army. She was present in several battles. In a battle on Saparua , the Indonesian troops killed the Dutch commander Richement and wounded his deputy Meyer. In another battle she and her troops succeeded in burning down the Dutch fortress Duurstede. During battles, when her troops ran out of ammunition, she is said to have used stones and spears against the Dutch armed forces.

After Vermeulen Kringer took command of the Dutch military on Maluku, Tijahahu, her father and Pattimura were captured in October 1817. While they were being transported to Nusa Laut on the HNLMS Evertsen, Tijahahu was the only female soldier who was not punished; this was due to her young age. She was temporarily held in Fort Beverwijk, where her father was executed. She was released later in 1817. She continued to fight the Dutch.

Tijahahu and several other former rebels were captured during a purge in December 1817. The captured guerrilla warriors were transported to Java on the Evertsen to work as slaves on coffee plantations. Tijahahu fell ill on the way. While the ship was crossing the Banda Sea, she died on January 2, 1818 after refusing food and medicine. She received a burial at sea that same day .

legacy

Shortly after Indonesia's declaration of independence , Tijahahu was declared the national heroine of Indonesia, and January 2nd was dedicated to her as a public holiday. On this day, during an official ceremony to commemorate their struggles, the residents of Maluku hand out flower petals on the Banda Sea. This ceremony is smaller than the one for Pattimura on May 15th.

Several monuments have been dedicated to Tijahahu. In 1977, in Ambon, the capital of Maluku, an 8 meter high statue was erected that overlooks the Banda Sea. Another statue was erected in Abubu on the 190th anniversary of her death. In addition, a street in Ambon and the warship KRI Martha Christina Tiahahu are named after her .

Her name is also used by organizations as a symbol of bravery and a “courageous spirit”, for example a social organization for Moluccas in Jakarta and a women's magazine from Ambon.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Jiz Azizah, (2011). Wanita-Wanita Perkasa dari Jawa (Indonesian). Bantul: In AzNa Books. ISBN 978-979-3194-96-7 . Page 121.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Syarivah Alaidrus. "Martha Christina Si Pemberani dari Timur" ( Memento from December 27, 2011 on WebCite ) . Kompas (Indonesian). August 18, 2010.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Azis Tunny. "Martha Christina Tiahahu: The 'kabaressi' heroine of Maluku" ( Memento from December 27, 2011 on WebCite ) . The Jakarta Post. April 27, 2008.