INTRODUCTION

Pre-colonial Society.
Seven major ethnic groups (suku) together made up virtually the entire
population of pre-colonial mainland North Sumatra. Six - the Pakpak, Toba,
Angkola, Mandailing, Ka ro and Simalungun ethnic communities generally
accepted classification as "Batak"s. Territorially the six Batak homelands
covered about four-fifths of mainland North Sumatra. Four of these - the
Pakpak , Toba, Angkola and Mandailing homelands - occupied the western two
thirds of the North Sumatra region (including the inland island of Samosir); the
region which later, under Dutch colonial rule, became the Residency of
Tapanuli. To the north and north-east of Tapanuli lay the Karo and Simalungun
homelands. To the east, the Malay ethnic homeland took up the entire coastal
strip extending inland for between thirty to fifty kilometers. These latter three
ethnic homelands later constituted the Dutch colonial administrative region of
the Residency of Sumatra's East Coast (Sumatra's Oostkust) - S.O.K. None of
the ethnic homelands could be conceived of as having defined boundaries.
As regions they simply reflect the ethnic settlement pattern. At the start
of the nineteenth century, social intercourse and contact between the seven
mainland ethnic groups was limited to small-scale barter trade and occasional
warfare across the border regions. The bulk of the various ethnic populations
still lived in relative isolation from one another. This was particularly so in the
case of the six Batak ethnic groups.
In traditional Batak society the stranger was treated with great suspicion
and contact with the outside world was avoided. There were few paths
between the villages and a minimum of inter-village communication except
for the radjas, who travelled between villages and to the coast to trade
goods. The villages were heavily fortified with ditches twenty to forty feet
deep, surrounding walls ten to twenty feet high .... (1)
Least isolated were the ethnic Malay communi ties on the east coast. For
reasons of geographic location, contact with the Batak communities of the
interior was unavoidable and by the early nineteenth century a fairly regular
pattern of trading contacts had been established. Also, from time to time the

1
Pederson (1969); 76. See also, Castles (1972); 5.
Malay principalities had been able to establish political hegemony over Batak
communities on the border regions. But it was across the Malacca Straits, with
their fellow ethnic Malays on the western side of the Malay peninsular, that the
Malay communities of the east coast maintained the most regular outside
contact. There had long been both political and commercial ties between the
Malay principalities on both sides of the Straits. Kinship ties linked the ruling
elites of the east coast principalities with those of noe or other of the kingdoms
of western Malaya. Traders from both sides of the Straits had over the centuries
closely intertwined the economies of eastern Sumatra and western Malaya.
Travel across the Straits was, after all, a much easier enterprise than that into
the hinterland of North Sumatra. The primary external relations of the east coast
Malay communities was, therefore, seawards across the Malacca Straits rather
than with their inland neighbours.
On balance it was mutual isolation rather than contact that characterized
relations between the ethnic groups of precolonial North Sumatra. As a result
the socio-political structures that developed in each of the ethnic homelands
varied considerably.
In the case of the six mainland Batak ethnic groups, despite mutual
recognition of a distant "cousin relationship" with one another, each had, by the
beginning of the nineteenth century, "developed independent variations of
culture and custom". (2) In addition, important divisions had developed within
each of the Batak ethnic groups; divisions resulting from ties of kinship and
geographic settlement that separated the numerous clans (marga) and tribal
groups from one another. The clan, or marga, constituted "one of the basic
kinship units" in Batak social organization! This was particularly the case in
Toba society, in population terms the largest of the Batak ethnic groups. ( 3) The
marga was a "larger lineage" tracing its origins back to a common ancestor. (4)
It cons isted of a "number of lineage segments with a common patrilineal
name". (5)
The clans in their entirety are not autonomous communities They do not
act as a unit; they have no administration and hold no property. They are simple
groups of unilaterally related persons, living scattered over a large area; they

2
Pederson (1969); 76. See also, Castles (1972); S.
3
Cunningham (1958); 17. Cunningham cites here a Toba proverb from the Meat
valley which runs: "A man wi thout a marga , is like a peanut without its shell".
4
Castles (1972); 7-12.
5
Liddle (1967); 88.
can be recognized by their proper name s , often connected with a myth about
their origin and growth. (66)
But despite such minimal organizational entity, marga loyalties were strong
and inter-clan conflicts frequent. Tribal areas had evolved out of a mixture of
territorial and genealogical factors. They were settlement areas which
developed unique marga patterns. Virtually all tribal areas were peopled by
inhabitants from several marga. In some there was one clearly dominant
lineage and premier marga. In others, two or more marga occupied the territory
as equals. (7) Altogether there were many more marga than there were tribal
areas. Siahaan (8) lists a total of 293 different marga extending over 40 tribal
areas. The populations of the various tribal areas varied enormously, sometimes
by more than ten times.(9)
Clan ties frequently extended throughout a particular ethnic homeland, and
sometimes beyond. As a result, the divisions produced by marga and by tribal
area cut across each other. Within each of the Batak homelands inter-clan
alliances within tribal areas were constantly being challenged by marga ties
across tribal-area boundaries. Since loyalties to village (huta) and marga were
generally stronger than those to tribal area the incidence of conflicts within
tribal areas was relatively high, particularly in multi-clan areas where there was
no clearly dominant marga.
Because of this situation none of the Batak suku developed a significantly
centralized political and economic system; although there were important
differences of degree in this regard between the Pakpak, Toba and Karo on the
one hand and the Simalungun, Angkola and Mandailing on the other. The
polities of the Pakpak, Toba and Karo regions consisted of loose, shifting
confederations of village 'kingdoms' constantly engaged in internecine warfare.
They were essentially" stateless": a number of semi-autonomous villages linked
to form village-networks and bound together by custom (adat), religion,
territorial contiguity and genealogy (10) But statelessness should not be taken to
mean egalitarian, for this they were not. As Castles(11)has pointed out, in all
these societies "practically every human relationship was an asymmetrical one".

6
ter Haar (1948); 54.
7
See Vergouwen (1964); 107-8.
8
(1964); 77 passim.
9
See map of tribal areas in Tapanuli in Vergouwen (1964).
10
See; Castles (1972); 7, Middendorp (1929); 46-56, Vergouwen (1964); 105-27,
and Castles (1975); 67-70.
11
(1972); 15.
Within each settlement area there were hierarchies of class, of marga and of kin
relations. Class d1fferences extended through a hierarchical system at the top of
which was the local chief, the raja (usually a descendant i n the male line of the
founder of the village), down to slaves and debt bondsmen at the bottom.
Hierarchical differences also separated premier from subordinate clans within
each settlement area. Also, there was a rigid pattern of hierarchical differences
between 'wife-giving' and 'wife-receiving' clans in the overall structure of inter-
clan relations.
Somewhat more centralized than the political systems in the North
Tapanuli and Karo regions were those in South Tapanuli and Simalungun.
Here, by the early nineteenth century, larger

kingdoms and more clearly delineated aristocracies (kerajaan) had

ernerged.C
12
) In Simalungun, pre-colonial governments were larger
territorial entities than those of the village-kihgdoms of North
T 1 . d K. ( 13 ) · apanu 1 an aro. · By,.1850 there wexe between 150 and
200
village-based p~litical communities in Simal~ngun, with a total
population of between SO - 75,000, dominated by fou~ major kingdoms . '
- Siantar, Tanah Jawa, Pane and Dolok Silau. In addition there
were three lesser kingdoms- Raya, Panai, Silimakuta.Cl
4
)
Although larger and more centralized than any of the North
Tapanuli or Karo polities, the Simalungun kingdoms "did not
t . . . . t t. f " (lS) Th represen very 1mpress~ve concen ra 1ons o power . ey
were
 much more "statelets"J with populations averaging about 10,000 each. ( 16)
All the kingdoms
were relatively small and had_ no clearly defined borders, but instead
consisted of a number of villages which recognized the sovereignty of the radja
and paid tribute to him. Each keradjaan (kingdom) had its central ,village, or
pematang, where the radja and his officials resided; the inhabitants of the
pematang (usually the largest village of the keradjaan) and a number of smaller
villages were directly under the authority of the radj a. (17)
(12) Kerajaan commonly refers to both kingdom and aristocraty. Here it
will be used to refer to the latter, unless stated otherwise.
(13) Liddle (1967); 69.
(14) Ibid.; 57 J Tichelman (1936); 32.
(15) Castles (1975); 72.
(16) Ibid.
(17) Liddle (1967); 58. See also, the detailed description given by Tideman
:(19.22); 92-113.

The raja shared power with an aristocracy, especially the heads of

branches of the ruling family - the tuhans, who had control over
land and the appointment of village chiefs~ Comparatively within
North Sumatra th~ S~maluhgun kingdo•s
shared some features of both the Malay sultanate and the Batak villag-e
group. (18)
In South Tapanuli, the Angkola and Mandailing ethnic home
lands, the. main territorial political entity - the kuria - was
considerably larger and more complex in organization than those
of either the Toba, Pakpak or Karo, but $mallet than the
Simalungun kingdoms. The kuria itse.lf, a network of adjoining
v ill a g e· s , w a s
a territbrial community .... ruled by the rajah and his factotum, who is a
member of the rajah's family and his possible , successor (the bayo bayo na
godang), along with the elders (kahanggi ni raj a) ·of the rajah's
womanreceiving clan, and the headmen (natoras) of the other subclans in the
territory. (19)
Average population of the kuria in the second quarter of the
nineteenth century was probably somewhere between 2-3,000. (ZO)
The structur'e of kuria government was· bas,ed upon a much
stronger chieftainship and greater social differentiation than
those of the village kingdoms of North Tapanuli. At the top of
(18) Castles (1·975); 72.
(19) ter Haar (1948); 66.
(20) Castles (1975); 70.

the political hierarchy the chiefs and their families constituted

"a distinct class" clearly separate from the middle level of
commoners and a base level of slaves and bondsmen. (
2
l) But the
hierarchical structure was not pyramidical (nor, for that matter,
was it in North Tapanuli). Commoners accounted for the majority
of the population while the lowest class made up only between 20-30% of
the total kuria community. ( 22) By the last quarter of
the nineteenth century the kuria had become the basic unit of
Dutch colonial administration in South Tapanuli.
If structures of government and political organization among
the Batak suku differentiated North Tapanuli and Karo from South
Tapanuli and Simalungun, religion separated South Tapanuli from the
rest of the Batak groups: the result of the rapid spread of Islam
among the Mandailing and Angkola during the first half of the
nineteenth century. By 1820 the revolutionary Wahabite Islamic
movement in West Sumatra, the Padri, had erupted into the
 Mandailing region. Prior to this a number of Mandailing chiefs
had converted to Islam, but no significant mass conversion had yet
taken place in the area. Between 1820 and 1835 the Padri, under
Tuanku Rao, invaded most of Mandailing and Angkola, forcibly
converting tens of thousands of people.
(21) Ibid.
(22) Ibid.
10.
Despite forced conversion in the first instance, Islam
quickly took firm root in South Tapanuli society, especially
Mandai ling. It offered the local chiefs access to an enlarged
economic and political world and opportunities for considerably
increased power and wealth through alliances with the apparantly
poweiful Islamic communities to the south.
in the aftermath of the Padri war, Islam spread through South Tapanuli
under the patronage of this chiefly hierarchy (the kepala kuria and other adat
chiefs), who in turn were deeply beholden to the colonial regime. The local
religious teachers were hand in glove with the chiefs. The level of Islamic
scholarship was low and popular religi0n was largely magical. (23)
Islamization brought major changes to the social structures
of South Tapanuli. After 1820,
a significantly different social organization emerged without abandoning
the basi c system of patrilineal clans and autonomous villages. The higher
chiefships tended to become more strictly hereditary and social classes became
differentiated. (24)
Islam contributed greatly to the development of a much more distin
ct pattern of social stratifi cation in South Tapanuli, prior to
the establishment of Dutch colonial rule, than in the north.
Islamization set in motion a gradual reduction in the importance
of marga loyalties. As a result many South Tapanuli Bataks,
 (23) Castles (1972); 115.
(24) Ibid.; 20.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--- -- ·----. ·~--·-- ·
11.
particularly Mandailing, eventually dropped their marga names
in favour of Arabic/Islamic ones.
But the impact of Islamization was by no means uniform
throughout South Tapanuli. Important differences separated the
central Angkola region from Mandailing to the south. The peoples
of Angkola, Sipirok and Padang Lawas tended to identify with the
Toba north so far as ethnic and marga loyalties were concerned,
but with the Mandailing south on the basis of religion. On the
one hand, ethnicity plus religion worked to separate north from
south Tapanuli. On the other, ethnicity alone separated the
northern from the southern ethnic homelands of South Tapanuli.
In Mandailing they let I s lam r ob them of their ancestors, in Angkola,
Sipirok and Padang Lawas they tried to keep them. (25)
(25) Both amongst the Toba and Pakpak communities of No rth tapanuli, as
well as in the Karo and Simalungun regions, the dominant religious culture wa
s an overtly magicomystical one, based on the concept of sahala , the particular
powers of the individual 1 soul 1 (tondi ). Gods, natural forces and some
humans had sahala. 11 Sahala was a special quality of the tondi of particular
persons and things, Powerful chiefs had sahala, s o did parents for their
children, datu (magicians or priests) for their pupils .. . . The gods, and the
ancestor s who had many descendants, had sahala. Natural forces, like thunder,
or animals like the tiger , were also said to have sahala. It was essentially a
manifestation of supernatural power, .... "The bearer of saha.la enjoyed
hasangapon (r espect); not to obey and venerate him was dangerous. In general
sahala · haradjaon, the quality of power necessary to kingship, was thought to
be inherited. It could only be recognized, however, by its fruit s. " Ibid.; 13. Al
so see; Castles (1975); 75-6 and Vergouwen (1964); 79 passim.
12.
Islam, meanwhile, had long been a major cultural element
separating the Malay communities of the east coast from their
Batak neighbours. Long before its penetration of South Tapanuli,
Islam had become the clearly dominant religious ideology on the
east coast, reinforcing the sense of a common cultural identity
among the several Malay principalities in the region. Furthermore,
Islam provided legitimation to the ruling elites of those princip
alities, through their important positions in the religious
hierarchy.
Extending from north to south along the east coast, five
major Islamic kingdoms - the sultanates of Langkat, Deli, Serdang,
Asahan and Kotapinang - controlled the territory making up the
ethnic Malay homelands. By 1800 all the kingdoms displayed a
distinctly feudal style of government and social organization.
At the top of a well delineated pyramidical hierarchy was the
sultan, the premier chieftain, whose position was based upon his
personification of the political and socio-cultural identity of
the kingdom. Below him was a hierarchy of aristocracy - members
of the sultan's immediate family, court officials and local
chieftains - all bearing hereditary titles such as raja~ tengku~
datuk or orangkaya. Next came a class of wealthy and powerful
commoners - usually traders and senior Islamic officials such as
ulama~ kiyai or imam. It was not uncommon, of course, for the
roles of trader, religious official and aristocrat to be vested
13.
in the same individual. At the base of this 'feudal' structure
were the peasant-farming and fishing communities who made up the
overwhelming bulk of the population.
Compared with the Batak principalities of the interior, the
coastal Malay kingdoms were highly centralized. There was a court
centered bureaucracy and a generally recognized structure of
feudal obligations between ruler and ruled. But, at the same time,
sultanate politics was characterized by a continual interplay of
centrifugal versus centripetal forces; by a continual struggle
for power between the sultan, his immediate family (usually his
brothers and sons) and the local chieftains. The last-named
the rajas, tengkus, datuks and orangkayas - constituted the core
of the kerajaan elite, It was upon their loyalty and support for
the. sultan that the political coherence of the kingdom depended,
It was they who exercised the most direct control over the
population of the kingdom and, by virtue of the .political and
economic authority flowing from this, were able frequently to
maintain considerable autonomy from the royal court.
By the late eighteenth century, most of the kerajaan
families on the ·east coast were linked to one another by kinship
ties. Thus at any one time almost all the ruling sultan families
were kin-related. Some, notably in Asahan and Langkat, had kin
ties beyond the ethnic Malay communities - with chieftain families
---- ·· · .. -· · . . .
14.
in Aceh, Karo and Tapanuli.C
26
) All were related to one or other
of the Malay ruling families across the Malacca Straits.
Kinship ties beyond the ethnic Malay communities notwithst
anding, all the east coast kerajaan vigorously and self-conscious
 ly asserted a Malay ethnic identity. They identified strongly
with their ethnic kin across the Straits. Islam provided an
essential ingredient in this Malay cultural identity. The Malay
kerajaan were adherents to one or other of the variants within the
mystical Shi'a school of Islam, and were extremely conscious of
their positions as Islamic religious leaders. The sultans
particularly asserted their roles as the defenders of ' orthodox'
Islam within their kingdoms.
Despite periodic dominance over the Batak communities on
their borders, the five east coast Malay kingdoms had rarely
escaped the hegemony of their powerful ne i ghbours to the nor th,
south and across the Straits. In the two centur i e s preceding
the arrival of a Dutch colonia l presence in the region, all the
Malay sultanates had for most of the time acknowledged the
hegemony of either: Aceh t o the north, Malacca or Johore across the
Straits , Siak to the south or Minangkabau to the west. Tribute
(26) For example , the Langkat roya l house had kin t i es with Acehnes e u
leebalang families and with the Peranginangin ma rga in Tanah Karo. The
Asahan royal hous e was r elated to both the Ac ehnese sultanate and to Toba
chieftains in the eastern region of North Tapanuli. Cunningham (1958); 87- 8 ,
Reid (1969); 3-5, and Sinar (1971) and (1973) ; 23 .
15.
had at different times been paid to one or other of these outside
powers. During the first half o f the nineteenth century, Aceh
and Siak had been the chief recipients of such tribute. By the
end of the century, this was no longer so. Now all five kingdoms
had become part of the Netherlands Indies colonial empire, along
with the rest of North Sumatra.
Establishment of Dutch Colonial Rule .
 Between 1860 and 1870 the local rulers and chieftains of
North Sumatra took the important actions that resulted in the
subjugation of their communities and kingdoms within the
Netherlands Indies empire. It was during this ten-year period
that European planters and missionaries arrived in force in North
Sumatra ; the former on the east coas t and the latter in Tapanuli.
As the local rulers responded positively to their pres ence and
sought alliances with them, the establishment of Dutch colonial
rule was under way. (
27
)
Prior to 1860, South Tapanuli had been the first region in
North Sumatra to feel the impact of a Dutch-colonial presence.
Between 1830 and 1840, the populations of Mandailing, Ang kola,
Sipirok, Padang Lawas and Kotapinang found themselves faced with
Netherlands Indies military forces i n their territories: the
(27) On the importance of the planters and missionari es in this context, see
Pelzer (1961),
16.
result of a request to the Indies government by a Mandailing
chief, Raja Gadornbang, for aid in resisting Padri hegemony. By
1860, this Dutch presence had expanded. The sultan of Siak
entered into a treaty with ~he Indies government under which he
acknowledged the latter's hegemony over Siak and its claimed
dependencies - the sultanates of Asahan, Serdang, Deli and Langkat. (ZS)
For the next ten years, while ex~ernally the Nether
lands, Britain and Aceh struggled to assert control over North
Sumatra, within the region itself local rulers, planters and
Christian missionaries together were helping to decide the outcome
 of that external struggle by consolidating the Dutch colonial . h" (29)
presence Wl.t 1.n.
In 1863, two men who were to enormously facilitate Dutch
colonization of North Sumatra established themselves in the region.
In Deli, the representative of the van Arend trading company of
Holland, Nienhuys, obtained from the sultan a lease over approx
imately 1000 hectares of land, for use in the commercial growing
of tobacco. The following year, the first Netherlands Indies
(28) Vlekke (1959); 577, de Klerck (1938), vo1.2; 289, Reid (1969); 26-30,
Castles (1972); 22 and (1975); 71. By 1850 Dutch military forces had
withdrawn from South Tapanuli to West Sumatra, but Dutch ass ertions of
hegemony remained.
(29) On the struggle between The Netherlands, Britain and Aceh, see Reid
(1969); 25-78 and de Klerck (1938), vol. 2; 289-340.

Hal 17

the northern Toba chiefs were anxious to acquire the sahaZa

offered by Christianity, and the alliance with the Dutch that . . d (31)
convers1on prom1se .
To these Toba chiefs Nommensen presented Christianity as
a means of reinforcing their power and authority. Those who
accepted conversion were given positions of leadership in the new
church structure. They were offered access to elite privileges
that extended far beyond the boundaries of the world they had
previously known. It was an attractive and powerful incentive to
 change. In the end the rajas played the key role in the Christianization of
North Tapanuli. ( 32 )
But not all the Toba rajas responded favourably to the new
Christian/Dutch presence. The most fervent opposition came from
the Singamangaraja dynasty in the Bangkara region, the "dynasty
of priest-kings or god-kings"(
33
)who had exercised considerable
influence over many of the northern Toba principalities for several
generations. Christianity now presented a serious challenge to
the sahala of the Singamangaraja. The head of the dynasty, Si
Singamangaraja XII, responded by mobilizing armed resistance to
(31) Castles (1972); 30-1, Pederson (1969); 63 and (1970); 59.
(32) Pederson (1969); 63-4, Pelzer (1961); 70.
(33) Castles (1975); 73.
19.
the Christian/Dutch penetration. By 1870 he had gathered together
an army and announced his intention of expelling the invaders. (
34
)
But for the present the Singamangraja opposition remained
isolated beyond the immediate region of the RMG's operations. The
Christianization process , and with it the Netherlands Indies
presence, continued to expand. In this respect the Christian
missionaries had become key agents, and in most cases quite
willing ones, in the implementation of Dutch colonial policies
aimed at securing control over Tapanuli and incorporating the region
within the Indies administrative system. ( 3S) Nommensen,
actively supported by the Indies government, was used as a colonial
 advisor. In the Silindung region itself "he was in reality the
civil administrator himself". (
36
) A close relationship quickly
developed between the RMG and the Inpies government; despite
(34) Castles (1972); 32. On Singamangaraja's long conflict against Dutch
colonial penetration, see Djoko (1973) and Napitupulu (1972); 122 passim.
(35) By the mid-nineteenth century Dutch colonial strategy aimed keeping
I s lam out of North Tapanuli so that the region could act as a wedge between
the Islamic regions of Ac eh and West Sumatra; thus greatly r educing the
likelihood of an Islamic alliance in North Sumatra which might be directed
against Du~ch interests in the region. The Christianization of North Tapanuli
was seen, in the context of this strategy, as a means of consolidating Toba resist
ance to Islam and Toba support for a Dutch colonial presence. Castles (1972);
26, Pelzer (1961); 69-70
(36) Tobing (1964); 2.
20.
periodic differences occasioned by the conflicting demands of God
and Empire on the rare occasions when such differences arose. (
37
)
During the early 1880s, important missionary bases were
established on the southern shores of Lake Toba; at Balige, Lagu
boti and Muara. Between 1870 and 1900, a minority (about 25%) of
the population of the Sipirok region converted to Christianity; although all
the kuria chiefs had by this time become Moslems. ( 38)
In April 1890, under the sponsorship of the huge Dutch tobacco
plantation corporation, the Deli Maatschappij, the first Christian
mission was established in the Karo region. Operated by the
Netherlands Missionary Society (Nederlandsch Zendings genootschap)
- NZG, the mission was promoted by the Indies government as a
 means of ensuring that "this part of the Batt a lands .... should
be withdrawn from the influence of Islam''.C
39
) In the next decade,
the NZG mission established schools and churches in s everal are as
of Tanah Karo: ope rating in close concert wi th the larger and
wealthier RMG mission in North Tapanuli. (
4
0) Meanwhile, in 1893,
the RMG itself had expanded its miss ionary act ivities to the isla nd
of Samosir. With this Christianity h ad penetra ted into the cultural
(37) Cas tles (1972); 41-5.
(38) Ibid.; 2&, Cunningham (1 958) ; iii.
(39) de Klerck (1938), vol.2; 516.
(40) Ibid., Peders on (1970); 131-3, Meuraxa (197.3); 344.
21.
(ancestral) heartland of the ethnic Toba region, Ten years later,
the RMG moved into Simalungun, establishing a mission at Pematang
Raya. (41 )
At the same time as the Toba rajas were first responding to
the joint offers of Christianization and Dutch colonial hegemony,
on the east coast the Malay sultans were responding to the linked
offers of a plantation economy and colonial hegemony . In 1865,
the year that Nienhuys planted his first tobacco crop in Deli,
two of the other sultanates - Langkat and Asahan - separately
acknowledged their political subordination to the Indies govern
ment. (
42
) Four years later, in 1869, the European-controlled
 plantation economy moved into Deli in force. Negotiations between
the sultan and Nienhuys resulted in the former granting a long
term lease over approximately 25,000 hectares to a newly-formed
Amsterdam-based conglomerate, the Deli Corporation (Deli Maa t
sehappij) - Deli Mij.- for the cultivation of tobacco. Under
( 41)
(42)
The Toba-orientation of the RMG, however, made it unattractive to the
Simalungun Bataks and it was not until about 1909 that the first mass
conversions of Simalungun Bataks to Christianity took place. Pederson (1970);
106-8, Liddle (1967); 101.
In Langkat, the sultan signed a "Declaration11 and an "Act of Recognition''
acknowledging the Langkat sultanate as a part of the Netherlands Indies . In
Asahan, several of the kerajaan elite continued to foment res i stance against
Dutch hegemony, until finally suppr essed by force around 1870 . Sinar (1973);
23 , Reid (1969); 48-9, Resink (1968); 84 .
22.
Nienhuys' direction the corporation established its local head
quarters in Kampung Medan, a small village on the Belawan river
adjoining the l eased land. The next year an energetic and ruthless
Dutch entrepreneur, Jacob C~emer, arrived there to take charge of
the Deli Mij. operations. Three years later, in 1873, the first
plantation tobacco crop (about 4000 kilograms) was harvested. (
43
)
Over the next thirty years, Cremer, the Deli Mij.and the
Deli kerajaan together transformed the Deli sultanate into a vast
tobacco plantation. European planters, the Malay kerajaan and
the Dutch colonial empire became linked together in a mutually
highly profitable relationship. Participation in the Netherlands
 Indies colonial system became a most attractive proposition, not
only to the Malay kerajaan , but also to many from the ruling elites
of ~heir Simalungun and Karo neighbo~rs.
By 1874, the year after the first tobacco crop had been
harvested, the east coast sultanates had accepted formal incorpor
ation of their kingdoms as a part of the Netherlands Indies. In
Batavia, the Indies government designated the entire east coas t
region as a "Residency" territorial division under the supervision
of a Dutch Resident based in Bengkalis (Siak). Two years later,
in 1876, the sultan of Deli made further concessions to Dutch
(43) de Klerck (1938), vol.2; 377, Lim (1962); 2, Allen & Donnithorne
(1957); 97, Thee (1969); 9, Meuraxa (1973); 64 & 110.
23.
hegemony, granting the Indies government sole rights to levy
taxes on trade and plantation production and supervisory powers
over the granting of leases for plantation land. In return the
sultan was provided with an annual pension. (
44
) The next year
the colonial government decreed that all leases for plantation
land must uniformly comply with a "model contract", guarenteeing
the use of a portion of the leased land to the local autochtonous
population.
The model contracts marked a major consolidation of colonial
rule. They
in effect transferred sovereign rights over the ( leased) territory and its
population to the concessionaires. (45)
The Indies government and the plantation companies together were
given absolute powers over the usage of the leased land and over
 all the non-autochtonous sector of the population residing, using
or working on the land. With the formation in 1879, largely on
Cremer's initiative, of an association of tobacco plantation
enterprises, the Deli Planters' Association (DeZi Planters
Vereeniging) - DPV - to regulate the production and marketing of
east coast tobacco,C
46
)colonial hegemony acquired a corporate
identity and the begi nnings of a bureaucratic structure.
(44) de Klerck (1938), vo1.2; 240, Sinar (1971); 160-1, Meuraxa (1973);
126, Pelzer (1957); 155 and (1961); 68.
(45) Allen & Donnithorne (1957); 98.
(46) DeZi Data 1863-1938; 8, Meuraxa (1973); 127, Thee (1969);68.
24.
The consolidation of Dutch colonial rule in Tapanuli had
kept pace with that on the east coast. In 1878, four years after
the formation of the Residency of East Sumatra, Dutch military
forces moved into the Silindung valley in pursuit of the chief
opponent of the European presence there, Singamangaraj XII.
Faced with militarily superior forces, Singamangaraja retreated from his
base at Bangkara and turned to guerilla resistance. C47)
The remaining Toba chieftains, however, saw little reason to
resist the Dutch incursion. With little apparant hesitation
they acknowledged Dutch hegemony and the incorporation of their
village kingdoms into the Indies administrative system. As with
East Sumatra, Tapanuli was made a Residency administrative and
territorial unit. A colonial government official was posted at
Tarutung. Four years later, the residency capital was moved to Sibolga on
the bay of Tapianuli. C4S)
 During the thirty years between 1880 and 1910 all the ethno
linguistic communities in Tapanuli were drawn firmly into the
Netherlands Indies political system. As an administrative unit
the mainland of the Tapanuli residency was divided into three
sub-residency regions (afdeeling) - North Tapanuli, known as
afdeeZing Bataklanden; South Tapanuli, known as afdeeZing Padang
(47) Napitupulu (1972); 136 passim.
(48) de Klerck (1938), vo l .2; 376, Castles (1972); 31-2 & 39.
25.
Sidempuan; and the afdeeting Sibotga, incorporating the residency
capital and its environs. The first two afdeeting together
encompassed about 80% of the land area of mainland Tapanuli and
included the overwhelming bulk of the population.
The local chiefs in both North and South Tapanuli found
their socio-economic conditions undei Dutch colonial hegemony
quite favourable to their interests as ruling elites. In the
south, the kuria chieftain families soon developed into a heredi
tary aristocracy much more powerful vis-a-vis the rest of the
population than ever before, and more akin to their counterparts
on the east coast. In addition to the support from Dutch arms.
the kuria chiefs and their families received monetary and other
material perquisites from the Indies government to add to their
tra~itional benefits from adat dues. For some of them,
it was even possible ...• to imagine themselves the allies rather than the
subjects of the Dutch. (49)
In North Tapanuli too the chiefs utilized Dutch support to reinf
orce their positions as local governing elites, and to pursue
their inter-elite rivalri.es.(SO) In 1905 the chiefs of Samosir
and Dairi, who up to now had remained outside the sphere of
 administration of the Indies government, accepted Dutch hegemony.
(49) Castles (19 72); 23
(SO) Ibid.; 33-9.
26.
Two years later, the now legendary leader of resistance to Dutch
penetration of North Tapanuli, Singamangaraja XII, was killed in
the course of a brief skirmish with a Dutch patrol. Two of his
sons also died in the encounter. The remainder of tbe Singamanga
raja family was captured. Shortly afterwards they were baptized
as Christians. In the next few years they were absorbed into
the RMG hierarchy and into the Dutch-sponsored indigenous sector of the
colonial elite in Tapanuli. (5l)
By 1910, the Dutch colonial administration of Tapanuli had
been rationalized upon two basic territorial and administrative
units: the negeri (confederation of hutas) in North Tapanuli, and
the kuria in the South. A "native district administration of
salaried officials" had been introduced to "bridge the gap" bet
ween European colonial officials and the hereditary adat chief
tains. (S
2
) In addition, a system of taxation payable direct to
the colonial government had been introduced. (
53
) Tapanuli was now
one of the "directly ruled" territories of the Netherlands Indies. (54)
(51) Ibid.; 47-8 & 82, Meuraxa (1973); 501-6, Djoko (1973); 296-9.
(52) Castles (1972); 49 & 61-7, Also, Siagian (1964) ; 40-1.
(53) Castles (1972); 50-5.
(54) Ibid.; 35-9, de Klerck (1938), vo1.2; 445.
2 7.
In the same thirty-year period, from 1880 to 1910, the
Residency of East Sumatra too was fully absorbed into an expanded
Indies economic and political system. There were, however, two
important differences from what had taken place in Tapanuli.
First, the pre-colonial kingdoms in East Sumatra were classified
as "indirectly" ruled "native states" or "autonomous government
regions" (zelfbestuurendegebieden). At the same time, the
territory of the main native states, the Malay sultanates, had
been greatly reduced as a result of the vast tracts of land leased
out for plantations between 1870 and 1910. (SS) Second, the plant
ation economy itself brought drastic changes in the socio-economic
structure of East Sumatra, in scope perhaps significantly greater
than that produced in Tapanuli by Christianity.
All the East Sumatran rulers - Malay, Simalungun and Karo
had acknowledged their political subordination within the Nether
lands Indies by 1910. In the case of the Malay rulers of Langkat,
De li, Serdang, Asahan, Kualuh-Leidong, Siak and Indragiri this had
been done by means of the so-called Political Contracts (Politiek
Contract ) they signed with the Indies government. The other
rulers - Simalungun, Karo and the lesser important Malay chiefs
signed so-called Short Declarations (Korte Verklaring), under
which they acknowledged the ir kingdoms to be part of the Nether
lands Indies , undertook not to have political relations with any
(55) Dootjes (19 38/9); 52.
28.
other foreign power, and agreed to coreply with instructions of
the Indies government concerning the administration of their
 kingdoms. Under the korte verklaring the rulers in effect surren
dered all rights to gran~ long-term leases over lands within their kingdoms.
(S6)
The last of the East Sumatra kingdoms to acknowledge Dutch
hegemony were those of ~anah Karo. By 1906, after some brief
and uncoordinate armed resistance, all the Karo rajas had signed
korte verklaring with the Indies government. Under colonial
supervision specific territorial boundaries were drawn for the
"Karo-lands". As a result the ethnic Karo communities were split
up. The lowland dusun Karo were placed outside these boundaries
and within the Langkat sultanate instead. Other Karo communities
to the north-west of Lake Toba were _included within the afdeeling
Bataklanden in Tapanuli. The central Karo highlands were
constituted as the sub-region (onderafdeeling) Karolanden; part
of the afdeeZing Simeloengoen en KaroZanden.
All the indigenous communities and the kingdoms of East
Sumatra had been subsumed within larger, foreign-controlled,
political entities by 1910. Earlier, in 1907 and 1908, the east
coast sultans had put their signatures to revised Political
(56) . Furnivall (1944); 237 & 316, de Klerck (1938Lvol.2; 391, 434-5 &
444-6, Sinar (1973); 1, Meuraxa (1973); 631, Liddle (1967); 72,
Encyclopaed·1:e" SupplementVII; 290-1.
29.
Contracts with the Indies government, under ~he terms of which
"the sovereignty of the Malay kings became almost non-existent. (S?)
In Karoland, the 500 or so village kingdoms were amalgamated into
~ighteen larger administrative units, broadly corresponding with
the traditional, genealogically-~ased, regions, the urung. Above
 this, the onderafdeeling was divided into five nominally "selfgoverning"
kingdoms. (58) Likewise, the seven Simalungun kingdoms
accepted incorporation into the onderafdeeling Simeloengoen and
placed the · administration of the kingdoms under the supervision f I d . f£'
0 1 0 s· (59) o an n 1es government o ~c1a 1n 1antar.
To the extent that any power remained in the hands of the traditional rulers,
its locus shifted upwards to the radja. In rationalizing the governmental
hierarchy the Dutch had stabilized the position of the radja as final authority in
his kingdom and supported him in any ~isputes with his subordinates. Dutch
colonial power thus transformed the traditional political systems of Simalungun
from loosely-articulated and irregularly ruled keradjaan built upon and
continually undercut by particularistic village loyalties to an artificially stable
system of seven kingdoms with severely limited powers, rationalized levels of
authority and clear-cut geographical boundaries ,. (60)
(57) Sinar (1973 ); 3. See also; Resink (1968); 81, Deli Data 1863-1938;
13, and de Klerck (1938L vol.2; 446.
(58) Middendorp (1929); S0-6 , Singarimbun (1975); 8-10, de K 1 e r c k (
19 3 8) , v o 1 . 2 ; 4 4 S , Tam b o en ( 19 52) ; 4 3 .
(59) Liddle (1967); 72-7, Meuraxa (1973); 631.
(60) Li ddle (1967); 74-5.

The plantation economy was the base upon which colonial

rule of East Sumatra rested. It was the plantations that bound
the economic and political interests of the east coast rulers to .. .
th~ Netherlands Indies. The plantations proVid.ed the essential '
infrastructure through which the colonial administration functioned:
a network of roads; the railway line built by the Deli Spoor~eg
Maatschappi j - DSM - between 1880 and 1900, linking Langkat, Deli and
Serdang; and a telegraph 1 . ( 61) w·th 1ne. 1 only a minimal
colonial administrative system in existence~ the plantation
cQmpanies functioned as mini-colonial administrations, providing
 public utilities such as roads, rail, harbour.s ., waterworks, schools
etc.
For example, the Deli Mij. took the initiative in constructing the Deli
railway, harbours and waterworks. For a time it carried out the administrative
functions of government in the territories leased from the Sultan. It was indeed,
an empire builder as well as a great commercial and agricultural enterprise. (62)
In 1887 the colonial administrative capital for the East
Sumatra residency ·was transferred from Bengkalis to the heart of
the tobacco plant~tion re~ion, to the site bf the Deli MiJ. head
quarters, Kampung Medan.
(61) Wei s felt (1972); 20-48, Deli Data 1863-1938; 9, Meuraxa (1973);
129.
(62) Allen & Donnithorne (1957); 99.

In the seventeen years since Nienhuys established the Deli

Mij. headquarters there, Medan had become a burgeoning 'frontier'
town: a European-dominated commercial enclave controlling the
biggest single economic enterprise in the residency. Barely a
year after being made the residency capital, the sultan of Deli,
by now the wealthiest of the east coast rulers, began the construc
tion of a large palace in the town. In 1891 he moved in permantly.
It was an important acknowledgment of Dutch hegemony.
The forty years of Dutch colonial presence up to 1910 marked
the emergence of a common North Sumatran history far more overt
than that of any preceding era. In 1910, for the first time all
the indigenous communities were part of the s~me larger polity.
In varying degrees and over varying periods of time within this
forty-year period, each of the indigenous communities had experien
ced far-reaching socio-economic changes. Larger and more complex
territorial entities and hierarchies of authority had come into
being. For the first time the geographic regions of Tapanuli and
East Sumatra had taken on real meaning as political and economic
entities. In 1915, the Residency of East Sumatra, by now often
referred to simply as Sumatra's East Coast of Sumatera Timur, was
given the status of a first-level region, a Government (Gouverne
ment); it was recognition by the imperial overlord of the importan
ce that the region now had to the political economy of the colonial
empire.
32.
Earlier, in 1909, the Plantation Region of the East Coast
of Suffiatra (Cultuurgebied ter Oostkust van Sumatra) - extending
across Langkat, Deli, Serdang, Simalungun and Asahan - had been
officially delineated as a specific administrative region, and
an advisory council, Plaatselijke Raad, was appointed to assist
in the colonial administration. (
63
) At the same time, Medan was
made a Municipality, with a municipal advisory council. I n 1917,
four other towns in Sumatera Timur - Pematang Siantar, Binjei,
Tebingtinggi and Tanjung Balai - were al so given municipal status,
and advisory councils were appointed for each. (
64
)
By the 1930s, colonial rule in North Sumatra had rationalized
the mosaic of kingdoms, petty principalities and autonomous
village communities into two relatively centralized regional
 administrations: the residencies of Tapanuli and East Sumatra. (
6
S)
The major difference in the territorial-adminis trative structure
of the two residencies reflected the differing relationships
between the Dutch colonial government and the indigenous polities
(63) de Klerck (1938),vol.2; 477, Middendorp (1929); 65, Deli Data 1863-
1938; 14, Furnivall (1944); 271, Regee r i ngs AZmanak, 1942, vol.1; 179.
(64) Dootjes (1938/9); 53, De li Data 1863-1938; 17, Liddle (1967); 97.
(65) In 1938, the island of Sumatra was made a Gouver nement , and
Sumatera Timur reverted back to the s tatus of a Residency. Furnivall (1948);
217 & 247, Schiller (1955); 87-8.
3 3.
of each residency. Specifically, it reflected the difference
between the mainly village-based polities of Tapanuli and the
territorial kingdoms of the east coast. In Tapanuli, as a directly
ruled territory, the pre-colonia l polities were incorporated into
the basic territorial units of the colonial administrative system.
In Sumatera Timur, by contrast, indirect rule recognized the
separate existence of 34 native s tates with varyi ng but limited
degrees of political autonomy.
In Tapanuli, the territorial-administrati ve structure was
simple. The res idency was divided into four main regions, the
afdeeling, each corresponding to the main ethno-religious regions,
with further sub-division into sub-regions (onderafdeeling) and
subdistricts (onderdis trict). The three mainland af dee Zing were
sub-divided into a total of eight onder af deeZing and thirty onderdistri ct.
(66)
In Sumatera Timur, the structure was much more complex; with
 the 11 autonomous 11 native states being incorporated as constituent
(66) Afdee l i ng Bataklanden was divided into five onderafdeeZing
(Silindung, Toba Highlands , Toba, Samosir and Dairi) and nineteen onder di
str ict, Afdeeling Padang Sidempuan contained three onderaf deeling (Angkola/
Sipirok , M andai ling/Nat a l a nd Padang Lawas) and nine onder dis t r ict.
AfdeeZing Sibolga was divided directly into two onderdist2•i c t . For details,
see Regeerings .4 Zmana7<.~ 1942, vol.l; 179-80.
34.
entities. The kingdoms made up all or part of the afdeeling and
onderafdeeZing regions. Until 1938, there were five afdeeling
Langkat, Deli/Serdang, Simalungun/Karoland, Asahan and Bengkalis.
In 1938, the residency boundaries were re-drawn to exclude the last
named. The afdeeling Langkat corresponded to the territory of
the Langkat sultanate. Afdeeling Deli/Serdang was made up of the
sultanates of Deli and Scrdang. The former was divided into the
onderafdeeling of Beneden Deli (the ethnic Malay region of the
Deli sultanate), Boven Deli (the dusun Karo region of the sultanate)
and Padang/Bedegai (the sultanate region of that name). The
sultanate of Serdang constituted a single onderafdeeli ng. The
afdeeling Simalungun/Karoland was divided into the two onderafd
eeling - Simalungun (the native states of Tanah Jawa, Siantar,
Panei, Raya, Dolak Silau, Purba and Silimakuta) and Karoland (the
Karo "kingdoms" of Lingg a, Barusj ahe., Suka, Sarinembah and Kuta
buluh). Afdeeling Asahan consisted of three onderafdee l i ng
Asahan (the sultanate of Asahan), Batubara (the native states of
Indrapura, Suku Dua, Tanah Datar, Pasisir and Limapuluh) and
Labuhan Batu (the native states of Kotapinang, Panai, Bilah and
Kualu/Leidong). (o 7)
Dutch colonial rule in North Sumatra was highly authorita
rian, with a strongly overt emphasis upon racial and class dist
inctions; as it was throughout the Indies. By 1942 this was
(67) Ibid.; 178-9
35.
perhaps most clearly reflected i n the few representative councils
that had been established in North Sumatra. These were: the
Regional Council (Plaatselijke Raad) for the Plantation Region
of Sumatra's East Coast; the Municipal Councils (Stadsgemeente
raad) for each of the five municipalities in Sumatera Timur; and
the Regional Council for the onderafdeeling Angkola/Sipirok. Only
one, the Stadsgemeenteraad Medan, was elected. Members of the
other six were all appointed by the colonial government. Again
only one, the Regional Council for Angkola/Sipirok, had a majority
of Indonesian members. But even here, fifteen of the twenty
four indigenous members were colonial government officials,
appointed to the council as ex-officio members. On all the other
councils, including that of Medan, Dutch members constituted a
majority . In class terms, the overwhelming majority of Indonesian
members on all seven councils were either senior colonial civil
servants or members of hereditary aristocracies. The four "native"
members of council for the Plantation Region were the sultans of
Langkat, Deli, Serdang and Asahan. On the Regional Council for
Angkola/Sipirok, of the twenty-four "native" members, at least
twenty-one were from kuria chieftain families. (
681 In a very real
sense membership of the councils reflected the extent to which the
political economy of colonial North Sumatra in 1942 rested upon
Dutch-kerajaan cooperati on.
 ( 6 8) For details of the composition of the seven councils in 1940,
including the names of members, see Indisah Verslag 1940; 51C-7 and
Regeerings Almanak , 1942, vo1.2; 813-5.