The ethnic European descendants of Kisar, along with their ancestral heritage, makes the island even more colorful in terms of its culture, history, and certainly, its population.
By
Frans Pati Herin
·5 minutes read
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Maya Belder (65), a resident of Kottalama Village, Kisar Island, West Maluku Regency, Daya, Maluku when met on Friday (21/4/2023). Maya is of Dutch descent.
The elderly woman walking along a valley in Kottalama village, Kisar Island, has a different physique from most people on Kisar. She has an angular face, clear skin, straight hair and a height of more than 170 centimeters. Her name is Maya Belder.
Many people do not expect 65-year-old Maya to be full of energy. While maintaining her way of living, like her fondness for taking walks, her genetic makeup keeps her in good health. She is convinced that she will live a long life. “So do many people in Europe. They live longer,” said Maya, who is of Dutch descent, during a visit on Friday (21/4/2023).
Maya has 12 siblings and nearly all of them are still healthy. Some will even reach their centenary. Most are married and live on Kisar, the outermost island in Southwest Maluku regency, Maluku province.
What I know is that we are Kisar people. This is our native land.
Others live on the island of Ambon in East Nusa Tenggara, in Papua and a few cities on Java. “None of us are in Europe. I don’t know our family line in Europe, either. What I know is that we are Kisar people. This is our native land,” she said.
Besides Maya, there is also Rudy Stevy Ruff, 42, whose stature figure is also unlike that of most Kisar residents. Rudy is 184 cm tall, like many European football players. “My son is even taller than me. He is over 190 centimeters. He plays volleyball,” said Rudy, who is the current head of Kottalama village.
Rudy said he was a seventh-generation descendant of Cpl. J. Ruff, a soldier of German origin in the Dutch colonial forces. Ruff is also known as the first European leader of the village, after a fortress called Ruine Des Fort Delfshaven Von Sueden was erected in 1670.
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Rudy Stevy Ruff (right), Head of Kottalama Village, Kisar Island, West Maluku Regency, Daya, Maluku when met on Friday (21/4/2023). Rudi is an Indonesian citizen of German descent..
In the 17th century, said Rudy, the Dutch colonial administration based in the Banda Islands, Central Maluku, sent 11 soldiers to Kisar. They were to anticipate the Portuguese, which intended to expand the area under their control from Timor Island to Kisar and the surrounding area.
The 11 soldiers came from the Joostensz, Wouthyusen, Caffin, Lerrick, Peelman, Lander, Ruff, Bellmin-Belder, Coenradi, Van Delsen and Schiling families, with roots in several different countries.
On Kisar Island, the troops built a village in Kottalama, close to the fortress. The region’s King Wonreli received them and assigned the Bakker clan to join them. Kottalama was thus settled by 12 clans, their names written on a commemorative plaque at the fortress.
After establishing the village and having families, several of the village founders left Kisar, but their children and grandchildren remained on the island.
Their descendants still live there today.
“Sadly, we have no idea who our families are in Europe,” said Rudy, showing a photograph of the soldiers who had founded the village.
Inclusive
The arrival of the ethnic Europeans added to the ethnic groups who lived on Kisar Island, an 81.8-square-kilometer coral islet. Today, Kisar Island has a population of around 15,000 people of different ethnic origins. They are spread across nine villages. The most dominant ethnic group is the Meher people, who live in six villages, followed by the Woirata people in two villages, and then the Mustisen, or European descendants, who live in one village.
According to Rudy, 70 percent of the 872 residents in Kottalama village are of European descent. “Pure descendants are no longer found because of mixed marriages. Only a few have blue eyes like native Europeans do, but unfortunately, they are now visiting their families on an island across the sea,” said Rudy.
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Activities at the Wonreli People's Market, Kisar Island, Southwest Maluku Regency, Maluku, on Friday (21/4/2023). Residents on the island do not lack protein from animals or fish because of abundant natural resources.
He said there was no consensus among the families of European descent that they were only allowed to marry others of European descent. They were very inclusive, and freely married people of other ethnic groups. There had been no attempts at maintaining racial purity, which they had often heard was practiced by certain ethnic groups.
As a result, the residents of Kottalama often have European surnames but their physical appearance is similar to that of native islanders. One of them is Thomas Belder, 65, who is Maya’s cousin. Thomas has the typical face of a Kisar islander. “I look very Eastern due to a [multiracial] mix,” Thomas said jokingly.
Welem A. Mamonsary, secretary of Kottalama village, said several heritage items had been kept, including a village stamp, a book containing the village founders’ family tree, and Ruine Des Fort Delfshaven Von Sueden, which was located near the village administration office. All efforts were being made to ensure that the ancestral heritage would continue to be preserved for generations.
However, the village faced constraints in maintaining the fortress, of which only the front part was left. The left, right and rear parts of the structure had collapsed. The front part was preserved after it was restored some time ago, using cement.
“In fact, this fortress was built from corals that were attached by using egg whites and quicklime,” Welem explained.
The ethnic European descendants of Kisar, along with their ancestral heritage, makes the island even more colorful in terms of its culture, history, and certainly, its population.
Some of the island’s residents have dark and clear skin. Others have curly or straight hair. Some are tall, and others are short. And then there are those with blue eyes, a genetic trait that is gradually fading after centuries of mixed marriages.
