Colonial ‘Reformation’ in the Highlands of Central Sulawesi Indonesia,1892-1995

The To Pamona, the people of the highlands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, exhibit the effects of a complicated history of colonial contact. In this anthropological study, Albert Schrauwers examines the profound impact of a Dutch Protestant Mission on the religion and culture of the To Pamona.

Schrauwers reveals how a unique discourse on religion in the Netherlands was exported to its colony, Indonesia. The missionaries fostered a religious nationalism that ultimately transformed the region’s cultural and political identity over the course of the subsequent century. The role of the church in Dutch and Indonesian affairs of state is established and the historical roots of this ‘pillarization’ are unearthed. Central to this phenomenon among the To Pamona, says Schrauwers, was the influence of Dutch missionary Albert C. Kruyt, who used ethnographic methods to impose upon the people a foreign religion and social structure.

Schrauwers has based his study on extensive archival research conducted in the Netherlands, as well as two years of field work in Sulawesi. He presents a dynamic view of the evolution of religious practice among the To Pomona, and brings new material to the scholarship on identity and religion in Indonesia.