The Kingdom of Kaimana, although firstly established in 1309 by Imaga, was recognized as one of Muslims kingdoms in West Papua since its settlement in Adi Island. By the time of Hongi expedition and the affiliation of Netherlands in authority, the ruler had a hard time to maintain the influence for the kingdom. Take a look into some highlights about the Kaimana Kingdom since being involved by the Dutch until today.
The Dutch Involvement
The Kaimana Kingdom of West Papua used to be known as Sran Kingdom. The kings had been changed and the capital had been moved over times until Nduvin was crowned as Rat Sran IV in 1808 and ruled the regions. In local language, “Rat” means king and “Srat” is the region. Under the reign of Nduvin, Sran was eventually merged with Namatota Kingdom’s authority, but unfortunately, he couldn’t maintain his influence under the rule of Namatota as he concentrated himself in Hongi tochten or the expeditions of Hongi.
The resistance of Nduvin to the Hongi expeditions had to come to an end in 1898 when he passed away. Then, the reign of the kingdom was eventually thrown to his son, Naro’e. However, under the rule of Naro’e, the Dutch became more involved in administering the area.
By this time, the administered region of Nieuw Guinea was managed by the Netherlands, and they also immediately administered Afdeeling Noord Nieuw Guinea and Afdeeling West en Zuid Nieuw Guinea under the control of Moluccan resident. Meanwhile, Naro’e continued his father’s fight in the Hongi expeditions accompanied by his troops called “Sabakor.”
Marriages as Strategy
During the reign oh Naro’e, he also kept expanding his influence by maintaining the old way: through marriages. He set matrimonies of his royal family with Fimbay and Rafideso from Miwara, the dynasty of Kamakula in Uduma, Nanggewa from Bicari Bay, Nambobo and Ai from the regions of Mbaham Iha, as well as with Boki Sekar.
To maintain the contacts and relationships with the Kingdom of Namatota, Naro’e also used marriages as his strategy. His daughter Koviai Bata was asked to marry Laketei, eventually crowned as the king of Wertuar. Koviai’s sister, Sekar Bata, was also fallen into Lamora as her husband who became the king of Namatota.
More Dutch Involvement
Naro’e visited Captain Keyts in the Bay of Bintuni in 1912, and he found out that in the regions of Nieuw Guinea, the Netherlands was about to build a government under their authority resulting to the territory and rule under his power became invalid.
Responding to the information, Naro’e came to Kokas and Babo and spent for approximately 10 years for an exile there, while the capital was in charge of Ahmad Aituarauw, his son. 10 years later, by 1922, Naro’e came back to the capital of Kaimana and sent an instruction for the areas and villages to construct roads for accessibility.
In socio-economic sector, he also sent another instruction to set some plantation fields of palm trees in Sararota and Nusa Venda. The same instruction for setting another palm plantation was also made for Nanesa, Bitsyari, and Lobo. He was set to administer his capital in Kaimana until he passed away in 1923. His burial site was located close to the Great Mosque of Baitul Rahim.
After the death of Naro’e, the administration in Kaimana was handed to his son, Ahmad Aituarauw by the government of Netherland Indies purely meant for cultural matters without political authority. He was given “Rat Sran Rat Eman Umisi VI” in local language or it can be defined as “Commission King of Kaimana” as his title, and ruled Kaimana, West Papua, in 1923 until 1966.
After Ahmad Aituarauw, the capital was administered by Muhammad Achmad Rais Aituarauw also known as Bestuur Achmad for his involvement in Hoofd Bestuur Administratie (HBA). He also took part in Nieuw Guinea Raad (NGR) in Hollandia. He was set to administrate the regions until his retirement taking place by 1980.
Kaimana Now
The current king of Sran is the next king after Muhammad Achmad Rais Aituarauw who is also his third son namely Abdul Hakim Achmad Aituarauw. This man was actively participating in politics becoming part of Golkar Party and served as a legislative candidate for the House of Representatives (DPR) in 2019.
Today, we can barely see the remains of Sran Kingdom, like a fort built by the Netherlands and Kraton, the palace, due to destruction. There was almost nothing left but the burial site of Sran royal family and the Great Mosque of Baitul Rahim. The great mosque was fixed in five times of reconstruction. As a result, it’s difficult to maintain its originality.
These days, the family members of Kaimana Kingdom are attempting for relocating and regaining the remaining heirloom left by the royal family. The royal heirloom was seemingly brought around the kingdoms in Eastern Indonesia. The discovery met a result as some of them was revealed to be in Gowa Sultanate of South Sulawesi. The located heirloom was there due to matrimonies held by the family in the past. Most of it are showcased in a museum displaying the evidence of past civilization of Kaimana Kingdom, West Papua.
