The Colonial Encounter
The Dutch arrived in Nias in the 17th century seeking trade. They initially formed trade agreements with local chiefs but later established formal colonial control. In the early twentieth century, the Dutch imposed new systems, reorganized villages, and built infrastructure to strengthen their control. This period significantly altered Nias's traditional way of life. Colonial anthropologists also studied Ono Niha, reinforcing the idea of European superiority.
Colonialism Arrives in Nias
In the 17th century, when Niassers were connected to Aceh, China, Bugis, Arabia and other regions, Europeans started to travel to the Indonesian archipelago. They sought trade, especially spices and other valuable goods, including enslaved people. The first trade agreement between Nias chiefs and a Dutchman, François Backer, was made in 1669, followed by a formal deal with the militarized Dutch East Indies Company in 1693. This marked the beginning of Dutch colonial influence on Nias. Colonialism altered local customs, land use, and trade, imposing new systems that disrupted traditional village life.
Agreement between VOC and Nias regents, dated 15 April 1693
Inventaris van het archief van de Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC), 1602-1795 (1811)
Coll. Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Netherlands
Colonial Maps
In 1910 Schröder made a detailed map of Nias which aided the colonial administration in building roads, reorganizing, and relocating villages, one of the primary colonial strategies. Between 1910 and 1917, disrupting traditional life, many small, scattered villages were relocated closer to newly built roads for easier control by the Dutch.
Comparing Schröder’s 1910 map with one from 1917 shows the transformation clearly—hundreds of new villages had been created. Reports from the 1930s show that the colonial government continued to reorganise villages because the Ono Niha continued to resist Dutch rule. This not only demonstrates the Ono Niha resilience in the face of reorganization and external control, but also the continued use of ethnography for colonialism. The island’s modern road infrastructure reflects its origins as a tool of colonial control.
Colonial Infrastructure
While Christianity had already brought about some changes in the late 18th century, village structures and customs remained intact. The Dutch deliberately reorganized the traditional village system in an attempt to control Nias, between 1900 and 1942. Ethnographers like Engelbertus Schröder, colonial officer on the island from 1904-1909, documented Nias’ political structures and culture during military patrols aimed at establishing Dutch control, not just for academic purposes, but as tools to help the Dutch govern Ono Niha. This strategy, common across European colonies, used local knowledge to enforce colonial power.
Physical Anthropology
In the early 1900s, European scholars studied people in colonies through a field called anthropology. One branch, physical anthropology, aimed to classify people into “races” and rank them in a hierarchy, with Europeans at the top. This belief supported colonial rule as Europeans saw themselves as biologically superior to others. Colonial anthropologists measured traits like skin color, hair, and body shape, using tools like color charts and photos, and studied skulls and skeletons. This method was applied worldwide, including in South Africa, Mexico, and India. Today, physical anthropology is discredited as racist and inaccurate.
