Kisar, also known as ''Yotowawa'', is a small
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the Southwestern
Moluccas
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, located to the northeast of
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
Island. Most of the island is included within the Southernmost Islands District (''
Kecamatan Pulau Pulau Terselatan'') within the
Southwest Islands Regency of
Maluku Province. The District previously also includes the larger (but less populated)
Romang Island
Romang is an island, part of Barat Daya Islands in Indonesia, located at , east of Wetar Island. Alternate names in use are Roma, Romonu and Fataluku. It is included within the Terselatan Islands District (''Kecamatan Pulau-Pulau Terselatan'') with ...
further north, but this with its own outliers was subsequently split off to form its own district (''Kecamatan Kepulauan Romang''). The rest of the island forms the North Kisar District (''Kecamatan Kisar Utara'') within the regency. It is one of the 92 officially listed
outlying islands of Indonesia. The principal town is Wonreli, with 6,652 inhabitants at the 2010 Census.
Geography, geology and ecology
Kisar is similar geographically and geologically to the nearby islands of
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
,
Leti
Leti may refer to:
* Leti, Chakwal, a village and Union Council in Pakistan
* Leti Islands, Maluku, Indonesia
** Leti (island), one of the Leti islands in Maluku, Indonesia
* Leti language, a language in Indonesia
* Leti language (Cameroon), a lan ...
, and
Moa
Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand.
The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as
Kale moa and Moa Samoa.
Moa or MOA may also refe ...
. The interior of the island is hilly, with several small mountains lined roughly east–west. The highest of these, Gunung Taitulu, rises approximately above sea level, and from the top, nearby
Wetar
Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku and is the largest island of the Maluku Barat Daya Islands (literally ''Southwest Islands'') of the Maluku Islands. It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which in ...
and
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
are easily seen. The entire island is encircled by a series of rugged limestone cliffs that look like giant stairsteps rising from the coast. These uplifted terraces represent former coral reefs that have been thrust from the sea due to the active tectonics of the region. Those terraces are also gently warped. An uplift rate of the island of approximately 0.5 mm/yr over the past several hundred thousand years has been calculated by obtaining ages of coral samples from the terraces.
The rocks exposed in the interior of the island are primarily composed of low to medium-grade
metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
sedimentary rocks, with scattered
amphibolite
Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (flaky ...
s. The metasedimentary rocks are quartz-rich and the amphibolites represent
mafic
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...
igneous intrusions. Age analyses of
detrital
Detritus (; adj. ''detrital'' ) is particles of rock derived from pre-existing rock through weathering and erosion.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p G-7 A fragment of detritus is called a clast.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen ...
minerals,
petrology
Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous and metamorphic petrology are commonly taught together ...
, and
geochemistry
Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...
all indicate that the island belongs geologically with the other islands of the
Outer Banda Arc
The Banda Arc (main arc, Inner, and Outer) is a set of island arcs in eastern Indonesia. It is the result of the collision of a continent and an intra-oceanic island arc. The presently active arc is located on what appears to be oceanic crust whe ...
. This series of islands formed when the northern edge of the Australian continent was upthrust in collision with southeast Asia. These islands are paralleled by the
Inner Banda Arc
The Banda Arc (main arc, Inner, and Outer) is a set of island arcs in eastern Indonesia. It is the result of the collision of a continent and an intra-oceanic island arc. The presently active arc is located on what appears to be oceanic crust wh ...
, a series of active and extinct volcanic islands, including neighboring Wetar. The islands in the
Banda Arc
The Banda Arc (main arc, Inner, and Outer) is a set of island arcs in eastern Indonesia. It is the result of the collision of a continent and an intra-oceanic island arc. The presently active arc is located on what appears to be oceanic crust whe ...
are arranged in a distinct horseshoe shape and represent a young, emerging mountain belt. Thus, Kisar represents one peak of a new mountain range rising from the sea.
The
Timor Monitor
''Varanus timorensis'', the Timor monitor or spotted tree monitor, is a species of small monitor lizards native to the island of Timor and some adjacent islands.
Taxonomy
Kimberley rock monitors (''Varanus glauerti''), banded tree monitors (' ...
''(Varanus timorensis)'' is found in Kisar.
Language
The
Kisar language
Kisar is a Central Malayo-Polynesian language spoken on Kisar Island, northeast of East Timor in Maluku, Indonesia. It shares the island with Oirata, which is a Papuan language
The Papuan languages are the non- Austronesian and non-Australia ...
(a trade language, also known as Meher or Yotowawa) and the unrelated
Oirata language
Oirata or Woirata (also known as Maaro) is a Timor–Alor–Pantar language spoken on the island of Kisar in Indonesia, and by some people in Ambon. ''Ethnologue'' reports an SIL figure of 1,200 speakers from 1987. It is closely related to Fatal ...
(closely related to
Fataluku
Fataluku (also known as Dagaga, Dagoda', Dagada) is a Papuan language spoken by approximately 37,000 people of Fataluku ethnicity in the eastern areas of East Timor, especially around Lospalos. It is a member of the Timor-Alor-Pantar language fa ...
) are spoken on Kisar.
History
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van twee krijgers uit Kisar bij de decorstukken van een fotostudio TMnr 60039093](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Portret_van_twee_krijgers_uit_Kisar_bij_de_decorstukken_van_een_fotostudio_TMnr_60039093.jpg)
The island was inhabited long before the colonial period. Cave paintings dating back 2,500 years have been found in Kisar after a wide-scale archaeological work.
In 1665 the Dutch
VOC
VOC, VoC or voc may refer to:
Science and technology
* Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected
* Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus
...
built a military base and named the island after the Kisar word for white sand. From the European outpost on Kisar a relatively large
Indo Eurasian community developed named the 'Mestizo from Kisar' to this day their descendants live as Rajas and chiefs on Kisar. Surviving family names include: Frans, Parera, Joostenz, Wouthuysen, Caffin, Lerrick, Peelman, Lander, Ruff, Bellmin-Belder, Coenradi, van Delsen, Schilling and Bakker.
In 1795 Kisar was under British rule, in 1803 it was under Dutch/French rule and in 1810 again under English rule. In 1817 Kisar was returned to the Dutch until the outpost was abandoned in 1819. After that time Kisar upheld close ties with their Portuguese,
Topasses
Topasses (Tupasses, Topas, Topaz) were a group of people led by the two powerful families – Da Costa and Hornay – that resided in Oecussi and Flores. The Da Costa families were descendants of Portuguese Jewish merchants and Hornay were Dutch ...
and Timorese neighbours on Timor.
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bewoners van het dorp Kisar TMnr 10005996](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Bewoners_van_het_dorp_Kisar_TMnr_10005996.jpg)
After WWII and Indonesia's independence the island was temporarily considered part of the segregated
RMS, but ultimately became part of the unitary Indonesian state.
The current and 12th Raja (king) of Kisar, Johannes J. Bakker, succeeded his father Raja Hairmere Philipus Zacharias Bakker.
The first Raja Cornelis Bakker, who also ruled Wetar, Roma and Leti island via his brothers, was crowned ca. 1665.
Nowadays the Raja is respected as a traditional dignitary, but has no political power. The present Raja is well educated and for 5 years worked as a government official in nearby East-Timor, when part of Indonesia. There he met his wife Maria Antonette Ribeiru.
Regarding the entry of the Dutch into South Daya Island (PSD), Maluku, community leaders in Kisar, S.D. Mozes, said from the various information he obtained. It is said that the entry of the Dutch into Kisar began with the story of the ancestors of the Kisar people, Perlakuloho. took his sick sister for treatment to Belagar, Pantar, Alor. However, on the way back to Kisar, precisely between Wetar and Kisar islands, Perlakuloho got a boat which turned out to be carrying a Dutch citizen known as Yan de Klein who was having water difficulties to continue his journey.
Therefore, Perlakuloho helped the Dutch and took them to Kisar, with the hope that the Dutch on the ship could help them, should there be an attack from the Portuguese. The fear of a Portuguese attack was justified, because previously a resident of Kisar had killed a Portuguese. The captain of the Dutch ship, Yan de Klein, did not object to the invitation. In subsequent developments, the Dutch flag flew in Kisar which caused the Portuguese to abandon their intention to attack Kisar. Finally, the ship's passengers settled in Kisar (Mestiezen), in fact, Yan Klein married a woman from Kisar. The Dutchman first built the City of Delftshaven in the Old City and the City of Vollenhove on Nama Beach, Kisar. This can be proven by the existence of Dutch heritage forts in both cities.
Transport
Kisar has a small airport, near Purpura village on the north side of the island, with flights to
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
, Moa (one of the
Leti Islands The Letti Islands () of Indonesia are part of the Maluku Islands, in southwest Maluku Province. (The spelling Leti Islands is also used sometimes.) They are also called the "Lemola" Archipelago, from the initial two letters of each of the three main ...
) and
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
. Passenger ships connect Kisar to Ambon, Kupang, and other nearby islands, and there are speed boats to Ambon and Moa.
Academic study
In 1928 the German Professor E.Rodenwaldt published his study ''"Die Mestizen auf Kisar", "Mikroskopische Beobachtungen an den Haaren der Kisaresen und Kisarbastarde"''. His work is published in two German language volumes, one volume details measurements and photographs of the observed Mestizos. It contains a family tree showing the very complicated inter-marriages between the descendants of Mestizo families, as well as indicating skin, eye, and hair colour heredity. The study shows a unique natural experiment spanning over two centuries and is considered an essential academic work in the area of human heredity.
Family website.
References
External links
Antara News - Harmonious relations among Kisar, Timor Leste people
Pusaka Collection - article on ikat textiles of Kisar
Hans Hägerdal, ''Wetar and Kisar in Indonesia, and East Timor''
{{Authority control
Barat Daya Islands
Islands of the Maluku Islands
Landforms of Maluku (province)