Amanuban

Part of a series on the
History of Indonesia
Timeline
Prehistory Paleolithic Java Man 1,000,000 BP Flores Man 94,000–12,000 BP Neolithic Toba catastrophe 75,000 BP Buni culture 400 BCE
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms Kutai kingdom 350–1605 Tarumanagara kingdom 400s–500s Kantoli 400s-500s Kalingga kingdom 500s–600s Melayu kingdom 600s–1347 Srivijaya Empire 600s–1025 Shailendra Dynasty 600s–900s Mataram kingdom 716–1016 Bali kingdom 914–1908 Sunda kingdom 932–1579 Kahuripan kingdom 1019–1045 Kediri kingdom 1045–1221 Dharmasraya kingdom 1183–1347 Pannai kingdom 1000s–1300s Singhasari Empire 1222–1292 Majapahit Empire 1293–1527
Islamic sultanates Spread of Islam 800–1600 Peureulak Sultanate 840–1292 Aru kingdom 1225–1613 Ternate Sultanate 1257–1914 Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Pagaruyung kingdom 1347–1833 Brunei Sultanate 1368–1888 Malacca Sultanate 1400–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1405–1851 Cirebon Sultanate 1445–1677 Demak Sultanate 1475–1554 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Sultanate of Ternate 1486–1914 Sultanate of Bacan 1515–1946 Sultanate of Tidore 1500s–1967 Sultanate of Jailolo 1496–1903 Banten Sultanate 1526–present Banjar Sultanate 1526–1863 Kalinyamat Sultanate 1527–1599 Mataram Sultanate 1586–1755 Johor Sultanate 1528s–1877 Kingdom of Kaimana 1600s–1926 Jambi Sultanate 1604s–1904 Palembang Sultanate 1659–1823 Siak Sultanate 1725–1946 Surakarta Sunanate 1745–present Yogyakarta Sultanate 1755–present Deli Sultanate 1814–1946 Riau-Lingga Sultanate 1824–1911
Christian kingdoms Larantuka kingdom 1515–1904 Kingdom of Bolaang Mongondow 1670–1950
Chinese Kongsi federations Heshun Confederation 1776–1854 Lanfang Republic 1777–1884 Santiaogou Republic 1777–1853
European colonization Portuguese 1512–1850 Spanish 1521–1677 Dutch East India Company 1602–1799 British 1685–1824 French and British interregnum 1806–1816 Dutch East Indies 1800–1942 1945–1949
Emergence of Indonesia National Awakening 1908–1942 Japanese occupation 1942–1945 National Revolution 1945–1949 United States of Indonesia 1949–1950
Republic of Indonesia Liberal democracy 1950–1959 Guided Democracy 1959–1966 Transition 1966–1967 New Order 1967–1998 Reform era 1998–present
Regions Jakarta Bali Bogor Bandung
By topic Agriculture Archaeology Currency Economy Education Javanese historical texts Religion Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Mass media Military Sport Women
Indonesia portal
v t e

Amanuban was a traditional princedom in West Timor, Indonesia. It lay in the regency (kabupaten) Timor Tengah Selatan. In the late colonial period, according to an estimate in 1930, Amanuban covered 2,075 square kilometers.^[1] The centre of the princedom since the 19th century was Niki-Niki. The population belongs to the Atoni group. Today they are predominantly Protestants, with a significant Catholic minority and some Muslims.

The ancestor of the royal line is said to have come from Roti island, west of Timor. Amanuban is mentioned in Dutch sources as early as 1613, when the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) first approached Timor. Amanuban had resources of sandalwood, which was the main Western interest on the island. The Dutch concluded a contract with the King of Amanuban in 1616, but the princedom came under the influence of the Portuguese, political and commercial rivals of the Dutch. This influence lasted up to 1748. During this period there was intermittent warfare with the VOC enclave around Kupang in westernmost Timor. A political crisis in 1748 turned a number of Atoni princedoms, including Amanuban, against the Topasses or Portuguese Eurasians on Timor. After the Topass defeat at the hand of the VOC in the Battle of Penfui on November 1749, the territory of Amanuban was included in the Dutch political alliance network.

After 1770 dynastic disputes led to a split. The larger part of Amanuban joined the prince Tobani who ruled independently of the Dutch. His son Louis (c. 1807-c. 1824) led a violently anti-Dutch policy and trained a large mounted corps of warriors with firearms. The Dutch (and the British during the 1812–1816 interregnum) sent a number of armed expeditions against Louis, without much success. In later tradition Louis is pointed out as the founder of the royal seat Niki-Niki.^[2] After his death the coherence of Amanuban declined.

The last independent king, Bil Nope alias Hau Sufa Leu (c. 1870–1910) befriended the encroaching Dutch colonial authorities in the early years of the 20th century. However, the arrogant stance of the local Dutch officer caused anti-colonial resistance. Finally Bil Nope died in the flames of his residence in Niki-Niki in October 1910.^[3] In modern Indonesia he is regarded as an anti-colonial hero.

Another branch of the dynasty was enthroned, and Amanuban continued as a zelfbesturende landschap (self-ruling territory) under colonial surveillance until the departure of the Dutch (1942 and 1949). In 1952, a few years after the formation of a unitary Indonesian republic, the princedom was turned into a so-called swapraja, still with the old ruler as headman (kepala daerah swapraja). In 1959 a new administrative region (Daerah Tingkat II), Timor Tengah Selatan was formed, and included the old swaprajas Mollo, Amanuban and Amanatun. In 1962–63 the swapraja, and with it the last remnants of traditional governance, was abrogated by official decree.^[4] Members of the old ruling family, Nope, still have an amount of local informal influence.

• Don Michel before 1749–1751
• Don Louis 1751–1770 (brother)
• Don Jacobus Albertus 1770–1786 (son)
• Tobani 1786–c. 1807 (cousin)
• Louis c. 1807–c. 1824 (son)
• Baki c. 1824–1862 (son)
• Sanu 1862-c. 1870 (son)
• Bil Nope c. 1870–1910 (son)
• Noni Nope 1910–1920 (brother)
• Pae Nope 1920–1946 (son)
• Paulus Nope 1946–1949 (son)
• Kusa Nope 1946–1958 (brother)

• Andrew McWilliam (2002), Paths of Origin, Gates of Life: A Study of Place and Precedence in Southwest Timor. Leiden: KITLV Press.
• Arend de Roever (2002), De jacht op sandelhout: De VOC en de tweedeling van Timor in de zeventiende eeuw. Zutphen: Walburg Pers.
• H. G. Schulte Nordholt (1971), The Political System of the Atoni of Timor. The Hague: M. Nijhoff.
• Jacob Wadu et al. (2003), Sejarah Pemerintahan Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan. Penfui: Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Nusa Cendana.

9°49′S 124°28′E / 9.817°S 124.467°E / -9.817; 124.467