Kingdom of Larantuka Reino de Larantuca Ilimandiri Larantuka Kerajaan Larantuka | |
|---|---|
| 1515–1962 | |
Royal anthem: Domine, Salvum Fac Regem[1] | |
 | |
| Capital | Larantuka |
| Common languages | Portuguese (official language during its time as aTributary state of thePortuguese Empire) Larantuka Malay Lamaholot Li'o Dutch (official language during its time as aTributary state (Zelfbesturen)[2] of theDutch East Indies) |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Government | Elective Monarchy[3] |
| Raja | |
• ?-1768 | Dom Gaspar Dias Vieira Godinho[4]: 422 |
• 1768-? | Dom Manuel Dias Vieira Godinho[4]: 422 |
• before 1812 -? | Dom André Dias Vieira Godinho[4]: 422 |
| Dom Lorenzo Dias Vieira Godinho[4]: 422 [5] | |
| Dom André II Dias Vieira Godinho[5][6] | |
• 1861–1877 | Dom Gaspar II Dias Vieira Godinho[5][6] |
• 1878–1887 | Dom Dominggo (Ence)[5]/Dom Domingus Dias Vierra Godinho[6] |
• 1887–1904 | Dom Lorenzo II Dias Vierra Godinho |
• 1912–1919 | Dom Johannus Servus Diaz Vierra Godinho[3] |
• 1938–1962 | Dom Lorenzo Oesi Diaz Vieira Godinho III (Dom Lorenzo III)[3] |
| Regent/Acting Raja | |
• before 1785–1812 | Dom Constantino Balantran de Rozari[4] |
• 1904—1906 | Louis Balantran de Rozari[6] |
• 1906—1912 | Johan (Johannes) Balantran de Rosari[3][6] |
• 1919–1938 | Antonius Belantran de Rosari[6] |
| Vice-Raja | |
• 1912–1919 | Johan (Johannes) Balantran de Rosari[3] |
| History | |
• Portuguese arrival | 1515 |
• Conversion to Catholicism | 1650 |
• Purchase by Dutch East Indies | 1859 |
• Signing of the first long political contract with the Dutch East Indies after the purchase[7] | 1861 |
• Reduced autonomy through the signing of the "Korte Verklaring"[8] | 1912 |
• Converted to aDaerah Swapraja (autonomous region) within theState of East Indonesia | 1946 |
• Control transferred to theRepublic of Indonesia | 1950 |
• Converted into aKecamatan (district) by Republican Authorities | 1962 |
| Today part of | Indonesia |
Thekingdom of Larantuka was a historical monarchy in present-dayEast Nusa Tenggara,Indonesia. It was one of the few, if not the only, indigenousCatholicpolities in the territory of modern Indonesia. Acting as atributary state of thePortuguese Crown, theRaja (King) of Larantuka controlled holdings on the islands ofFlores (eastern part),Solor,Adonara, andLembata. It was later purchased byDutch East Indies from the Portuguese with thetreaty of Lisbon of the year 1859.[9]
Despite its autonomy being reduced over the years, first with the signing of the long political contract with the Dutch East Indies after the purchase[7] and then the short contract (korte verklaring)[8] the kingdom's royal family retained nominal authority over their territories until their power was formally abolished by the republican government in 1962.[9][4]: 175 [10]
Monarchs of the Larantuka kingdom claim descent from a union between a man from the kingdom ofManuaman LakaanFialaran (Belu) in the North Timor orWehale–Wewiku (Malaka) in South Timor and a mythical woman from a nearby extinct volcano ofIle Mandiri. Traditional belief systems and rituals of theLamaholot people who were their subjects place therajas in a central role, especially for those who adhered to traditional beliefs.[9][11]: 72–74
In the JavaneseNegarakertagama, the locationsGaliyao andSolot were mentioned to be "east ofBali" and are believed to correspond to the approximate region, indicating some form of contact from tributary relations or trading between the region and theMajapahit Empire, due to its location in the trade routes carryingsandalwood from nearbyTimor.[12]: 58–61 Influences from the powerfulTernate Sultanate were also believed to be present.[13]
Western presence in the region started with the Portuguese, whocapturedMalacca in 1511. As they began trading for the sandalwood at Timor, their presence in the region increased.Solor was described byTomé Pires in hisSuma Oriental, although some scholars believe he was referring to nearby larger Flores, mentioning the abundance of exported sulphur and foodstuffs.[12]: 61 By 1515, there was trade between both Flores and Solor with the foreigners, and by 1520 a small Portuguese settlement had been constructed inLifau, at Timor. The Portuguese traders were in conflict with theDominicans in Solor, because they were more interested in trade than inChristianization. The trade in sandalwood also attractedChinese andDutch along with nearerMakassarese, creating competition. This competition forced the Portuguese traders to leave Solor and settled in Larantuka, briefly before 1600. The Makassarese attacked and captured Larantuka in 1541 to extend their control over the sandalwood trade[11]: 81 and in 1613, the Dutch destroyed the Portuguese base at Solor before establishing themselves at modernKupang.[14] With the occupation of Solor and the Dominicans moved to Larantuka.Two waves of immigration brought additional population. As the Dutch conqueredMalacca in 1641, many Portuguese moved to Larantuka. Two villages,Wureh andKonga, accommodated the new arrivals. As the Dutch attacked Makassarese in 1660, most of the Portuguese from there also came to Larantuka.The Portuguese took indigenous wives, but they always wrote down the Portuguese ancestry.[15] This new population group was calledTopasses, but they called themselvesLarantuqueiros (inhabitants of Larantuka). The Dutch called themZwarte Portugeesen ("Black Portuguese").
TheLarantuqueiros turned out a loose, but mighty power in the region, which influence reached far beyond the settlement. The core cell was the federation of Larantuka, Wureh, and Konga. Theoretically they were subordinated to Portugal. But in practice they were free. They had no Portuguese administration and they did not pay taxes. Letters of the Lisbon government were ignored. For long years there was a bloody struggle for power between the families, da Costa and da Hornay. At the end they shared the power. TheLarantuqueiros made 'alliances' with the indigenous people of Flores and Timor.
They followed a certain strategy; the most notableRaja Ola Adobala who was brought up under Portuguese education, traditionally the ninth in the pedigree of the Rajas was converted toCatholicism and baptized during the reign ofPeter II of Portugal[4]: 174 (while present-day traditional celebrations place his baptism at 1650 instead),[16] by military pressure. He had to take an oath of allegiance to the king of Portugal and there on the titleDom was granted to him. The raja was allowed to rule his folk autonomously, but in war he had to supply auxiliary forces. In addition, Portuguese sources mention aDom Constantino between 1625 and 1661, which implies that Adobala may not be the first in the line of Catholic monarchs of Larantuka. Other monarch names mentioned are Dom Luis (1675) and Dom Domingos Viera (1702)[4]: 175 TheDominican Order was vital in the spread of Catholicism in the area until their later replacement in the 19th century.[12]: 66
The polity maintained some form of a closed-port policy for outsiders in the late 17th century.[12]: 60 There were also some interactions with the nearbyBima Sultanate, whose Sultan enforced hissuzerainty over parts of Western Flores in 1685.[4]: 177 Territories of the kingdom were not contiguous and was interspersed by the holdings of several lesser polities, some of which were Muslim.[9] They also establishedPortuguese as the official language to distance themselves from the natives.[17] The language of commerce was theMalay language, which was understood on the surrounding islands. This inspired the formation of the Malay-based creole language,Larantuka Malay and its neighbor Maumere Malay (Sikka).
By 1851, debts incurred by the Portuguese colony inEast Timor motivated the Portuguese authorities to 'sell' territories covered by Larantuka to theDutch East Indies, and the transfer was made by 1859 ceding the Portuguese claim/suzerainty over parts of Flores and the island range stretching fromAlor to Solor for 200,000florins and some Dutch holdings in Timor.[18]: 54–55 The treaty also confirmed that the Catholic inhabitants of the region will remain so under the authority ofProtestantNetherlands, and the Dutch authorities sentJesuit priests to the area so they could engage in missionary works, starting in Larantuka with the building of the firstrectory. They reintroduced a more orthodox form of Catholicism to the region. Monogamy was reinforced due their influence. The missionaries built Catholic schools and brought health care.[19]
The Dutch sent a military and administrative officer, who took residence in a small fort, but they did not influence much of the population.[20]
Since Larantuka offered little promise, after the downturn of the sandalwood trade. The locals resorted to farming as not much was left of the former profitable foreign trade.
On 14 September 1887, a newRajaDom Lorenzo Diaz Vieria Godinho ascended to the throne asLorenzo II, who was educated by Jesuit priests. Showing clear traits of independence, he attempted to extract taxes from territories belonging to a nearbyRaja of Sikka, led groups of men to intervene in local conflicts, and refused to conduct sacrifices in the manner his predecessors did for the non-Catholic natives. Eventually, colonial authorities responded by deposing and exiling him toJava in 1904, where he died six years later.[9] He was replaced by acting Raja Louis Balantaran de Rozari.[3][6]
With the independence of Indonesia the Larantuqueiros gained new influence. They were able to reach leading positions, because they had a higher level of education than then natives. Even the Indonesian language, which became the new official language, was easy for them, because it is very similar to the Malay language.[21] The royal family retained nominal authority over their own autonomous region (swapraja)post-Indonesian independence, until it was abolishedde facto starting 1 July 1962 based on the Governor's Decree of East Nusa Tenggara dated 28 February 1962 No. Pem. 66/l/2 and amended on 2 July 1962 No. Pem. 66/l/33 concerning the formation of districts in East Nusa Tenggara’s autonomous region. Thede jure abolition followed later on 1 September 1965 with the enactment of Law No.18 Year 1965 regarding regional government administration.[10] The last reigning raja at the time wasDom Lorenzo III[3] and henceforth, the title of Raja became titular.[22]
The Kingdom of Larantuka was divided into ten hereditary constituent princedoms[23] each headed by aKakang and one other region which was the center of the kingdom.[24] Thekakang each had their own courts, and the polity behaved likevassalstates, occasionally giving tributes and providing troops when necessary[25]. These princedoms, also calledkakang-ships were:[23]
The princedoms were divided into smaller political units called thenegeri, which consisted of a mother-village and its colonies (sister-villages).[24] Horowura, for instance, was divided intoeleven negeri, each containing five villages in addition to the mother-village.[24] Specifically within Horowura, there was a separate division called thesuku, a family unit, which was not present within the other princedoms.[24] TheKakang of Hadung and Boleng held prominence among the otherKakang.[26]
The center of the Kingdom was originally divided into five parts: Lokea, Lewonama, Waibalun, Balela and Lamalera, the foremost which was surrounded by the other four.[26] Lokea and an additional eight villages (Posto, Pohonsirih, Pohonrau, Gegeb, Renion, Kotta, Kottasau and Kottaruido)[26] were collectively called by the name ofrumah radja, the royal demesne, regions that were directly governed by the King.[24][26] The others, calledpo, were each governed by akapala.[24] When the government at Lamalera stopped functioning, the King decided to move his residence to Lamalera and governed from there, additionally taking on the duties of the originalkapala.[26] The name Lamalera was the old name for Larantuka.[24]
Each of the villages had for themselves atuan tanah, lord of the land, as a spiritual representation of the King.[26]
In present-day Indonesia, unique Catholic traditions close toEaster days remain, locally known as theSemana Santa. It involves a procession carrying statues ofJesus andVirgin Mary (locally referred to asTuan Ana andTuan Ma) to a local beach, then to Cathedral of the Queen of the Rosary, the seat of thebishop. Theraja title is still held by descendants of the past kings (most recently by Don Andre III Marthinus DVG on 2016), although it is not associated with any secular authority.[22][27] The residence (istana) of the king still stands to this day.
According to the 2010 census, the majority of the population in the kingdom's former territories, and theEast Nusa Tenggara province as a whole, remained Catholics.[28]
