INGWER Ludwig Nommensen was 27 years old when the ship Pertinax set sail from Amsterdam to Padang, Indonesia, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1861. After 142 days on the ocean, Nommensen set foot in the colony of the Dutch East Indies on May 16, 1862. From Padang, Nommensen settled briefly in Barus, then continued his mission inland. He carried out a sacred task: preaching the gospel to the Land of Batak.

On November 11, 1863, Nommensen stopped at Siatas Barita hill. From the top of the hill, he overlooked the Silindung valley where the indigenous Batak people who were still independent (onafhankelijk gebied) lived. Taking a rest for a while, he then offered a prayer.  

“In life and death, let me live among these people, to spread your word and your kingdom,” Nommensen prayed, quoted by Patar M. Pasaribu in Dr. Ingwer Ludwig Nommensen: Apostle in the Land of Batak.

His prayer was fulfilled. On May 23, 1918, Nommensen died in Sigumpar Village, not far from Lake Toba. By the time he retired as a zendeling (propagator of Protestant Christianity), there were 500 evangelical areas with 180,000 congregations covering the entire Land of Batak (North Tapanuli), 2000 elders, and 800 mission schoolteachers. Nommensen was recorded as the longest serving missionary in the Land of Batak, amounting to 55 years.

The Batak people gave him the highest traditional title: Ompui, which means honored grandfather. The title Ompui at that time was only given to Si Singamangaraja XII, a hero honored in the traditional Batak community. “The two great figures who received this special place were actually very different in their stance,” wrote A. Sibarani in Perjuangan Pahlawan Nasional: Si Singamangaraja XII (The Struggle of National Hero: Si Singamangaraja XII).

Embarking on a Mission

Nommensen was born on February 6, 1834 in Nordstrand, a small island in northern Germany, to a farming family. At the age of 12, he had an accident where his leg was run over by a horse-drawn carriage while playing with a friend. “He vowed to bring the gospel to the pagans if his leg was healed,” wrote Thomas van den End in Ragi Carita 2: Sejarah Gereja di Indonesia 1860-an–Sekarang (Ragi Carita 2: Church History in Indonesia 1860s-Present).  

Nommensen attended the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft (RMG) seminary in Wupertal-Barmen in 1857. He only finished his elementary school education when he entered the seminary. With his simplicity and low level of education, Nommensen's thinking was strongly influenced by the values instilled by the RMG seminary.  

In Barmen, RMG missionary candidates upheld the principle of white racial superiority. RMG director Friedrich Fabri was the most influential person in laying the foundation of the missionaries' view of the world.  

According to Uli Kozok in Utusan Damai di Kemelut Perang: Peran Zending dalam Perang Toba (Messengers of Peace in War: The Role of Zending in the Toba War), Fabri identified his people as descendants of Japheth, the blessed youngest son of Noah. Meanwhile, the non-white peoples were the cursed descendants of Ham, the second son of Noah. The blacker someone's skin was, the greater sin he or she committed. It was the duty of missionaries to save the colored people by preaching the gospel to them.

Fabri was impressed by the Land of Batak after reading the research of his colleague, German botanist Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn. Junghuhn, who was sponsored by the Dutch government, published his research Die Battaländer auf Sumatra (1847) which stated, “Batak is a small independent nation surrounded by Malays.”

Fabri saw similarities between Germania and Batak because both were enclosed by surrounding nations. Germany was threatened by the French in the West and the Slavs in the East. Meanwhile, the Batak was surrounded by the Malays. Based on these similarities, Fabri classified the Batak people into the Indo-Germanic race with a less severe level of damage.

RMG's intention to make the Batak Land a mission field became stronger, after many of its missionaries in Kalimantan became victims of Prince Hidayat's rebellion (Banjar War). In addition, Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk, a linguist from the Dutch Bible Society, had translated part of the Gospel into Batak language.  

After four years of studying at the RMG, Nommensen was anointed as a vicar. He immediately received an assignment from Fabri to go to the Land of Batak, where Nommensen was tasked to establish Batakmission. Before carrying out his duties, Nommensen deepened his knowledge of the Batak language from van der Tuuk.

Upon his arrival in the Land of Batak, Nommensen established a village he named Huta Dame (village of peace) as his evangelization base. Armed with the knowledge from Barmen Seminary, Nommensen captured the impression of the Batak people as primitive and wild, while the kings who ruled the huta (village) liked to fight.  

Initially Nommensen wanted to target Batak kings to convert to Christianity, but not many kings believed in a foreigner like him, except for King Pontas Lumbantobing. With hateful tone, they often referred to white people as si bottar mata (the white eye). Nommensen then shifted his target followers to marginalized society by using an education and health approach. By 1870, according to Jan Sihar Aritonang in Sejarah Pendidikan Kristen di Tanah Batak (History of Christian Education in the Land of Batak), 10 Batakmission zending schools had been established in the Silindung valley.

The number of Christians increased when the Land of Batak was plagued by cholera and chickenpox. Inadequate sanitation knowledge and open defecation habits were the two culprits that caused these epidemics to spread. As the missionary provided free medical care, people flocked to the relocated Christian base in Pea Raja, Tarutung. “After the outbreak of the disease, many people came to register to be baptized as Christians,” Sibarani wrote.

Batak people in Silindung began to realize the benefits that Batakmission offered: the redemption of hatoban (slaves) who later would be educated, health care, and the reconciliation of disputes between clans and huta. By this decade, the Christianized Batak population was large enough to become a social and political force.

Between Allies and Enemies

Batakmission considered the indigenous Batak religion, which wasn't really much different from Balinese Hinduism, as a pagan belief that needed to be eradicated. Nommensen banned local cultural practices such as tor-tor dance and gondang music because they were labeled synonymous with pagan ceremonies. Over time, the spread of Christian influence provoked a reaction from the ruler of the Land of Batak: Si Singamangaraja XII.  

As King-Priest, Si Singamangaraja XII's influence was threatened because the Batakmission movement began to spread in Toba, which was Si Singamangaraja XII's power base. As a result, Si Singamangaraja XII began campaigning in every onan or market in Silindung against the white man.

As early as December 1877, rumors emerged that “Si Singamangaraja would come with his Acehnese troops to kill Europeans and Christians,” wrote W.B. Sidjabat in Ahu Si Singamangaraja. The news shocked the colonial government as well as the Batakmission evangelists.

Nommensen, aware of the disturbance from Si Singamangaraja XII, immediately went to the colonial government in Sibolga. According to Uli Kozok, it was Nommensen who advised the Dutch resident in Sibolga to annex the Land of Batak. Nommensen requested that resident Boyle send troops, conquering all Silindung to become part of the Dutch East Indies.

Initially, the Dutch government refused to enter the Land of Batak as it was considered to have no economic value. However, the strategic importance of the Land of Batak as a buffer zone began to be realized, especially after news emerged that Acehnese troops were already in Bakara, the capital of the kingdom of Si Singamangaraja XII, in the southwest of Lake Toba.

The Land of Batak, located between Aceh and Minangkabau, was projected to fortify the influence of Islam. The Dutch government certainly didn't want an Aceh-Batak-Minangkabau Islamic axis to form, as it could spark resistance. If it happened, it could potentially threaten the colonial economic center in North Sumatra, the Deli Plantations, which were starting to develop. “The Dutch government actually did not want to interfere with Christianization. What they cared about was only one thing: money. Therefore, stability had to be created,” said Uli Kozok in a Skype correspondence with Historia.

In March 1878, the gospel and the gun united. Nommensen accommodated Dutch soldiers at his church in Pea Raja. While waiting for additional troops from Sibolga, Nommensen allowed young Batak Christians to be armed as militia, to fight their own countrymen. Furthermore, he and his colleague August Simoneit accompanied the Dutch army to conquer Balige and Bakara.  

Uli Kozok based his findings on Nommensen's writings published in the RMG weekly magazine, Berichte der Rheinischen Missionsgesellschaft (BRMG). “Please come to Barmen. The BRMG archive is open to the public. Anyone can ask for Nommensen's letters that he signed himself,” said the University of Hawaii philologist.

According to BRMG, in July 1878, Nommensen and Simoneit participated in the Toba Expedition as a guide and translator for the colonial army. They also became “messengers of peace” to convince the huta kings to surrender. Those who remained loyal to Si Singamangaraja XII had their huta burned and were fined 2000 guilders.

It should also be noted that the Dutch at that time still called their language Nederduits, or Low German. Nommensen himself was a native speaker of Frisian, a dialect of Low German that is very close to Dutch. In addition, according to the lessons he learned while studying at the seminary, the Dutch and Germans are still descendants of the same Germanic race. So, says Uli Kozok, we can see the relationship between Nommensen and the colonials.  

During the two-month expedition, it is estimated that hundreds of Batak troops were killed. This expedition marked the beginning of the first Toba War or Batak Oorlog. The Dutch press, Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant on May 20, 1878 criticized this expedition “because of their violent and cruel actions”.

Nommensen in his report at BRMG, quoted by Uli Kozok, also expressed his concern for the Batak people who became victims in the Toba War. However, Nommensen still justified by saying, “the Batak people can only become civilized human beings when they are under the rule of the great and noble Europeans”.

On December 27, 1878, Nommensen and Simoneit received a Christmas gift of 1000 guilders from the Dutch colonial government for their services as peacemakers. All churches and schools damaged by the attack of Si Singamangaraja XII's troops were also compensated by the colonial government. After the Toba expedition, the colonial government provided subsidies for the construction of Batakmission schools.

In 1879, based on Staatsblad No. 353, Tarutung city was designated as the onderafdeeling of Silindung. The Dutch government began to rule in the Land of Batak, and Christianity spread rapidly.

According to Daniel Peret in Kolonialisme dan Etnisitas: Batak dan Melayu di Sumatera Timur Laut (Colonialism and Ethnicity: Batak and Malay in Northeast Sumatra), Nommensen's Christianization movement was the most extensive and fastest growing in the history of Nusantara before independence.

In contrast, Si Singamangaraja XII's position was increasingly under pressure. Together with some of his followers, Si Singamangaraja XII lived on the run to avoid the pursuit of the colonial government. The King of the Batak Kingdom ultimately died by a bullet from the elite Marechaussee or Dutch colonial army in 1907.

The Land of Batak then entered a new civilization: colonial civilization.

Demystification of Nommensen

Apostel was another honorary title that Nommensen bore. In fact, Apostel title is reserved for the twelve disciples of Jesus. Nommensen's name is also immortalized as the name of a leading university in the cities of Medan and Pematang Siantar. His Batakmission was institutionalized into the HKBP (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan) church, which is now the largest ethnic church in Southeast Asia with 4.5 million members.

“The legendizing of Nommensen began when his son Jonathan Nommensen published a Batak-language biography, Ompui Dr. Ingwer Ludwig Nommensen in the 1920s,” Jan Sihar Aritonang said in Berpikir dan Bertindak Historis Sekaligus Teologis (Thinking and Acting Historically and Theologically).

However, in his native Germany, Nommensen's name can rarely be found in historical writing. There are no schools in Germany that bear Nommensen's name. According to Uli Kozok, this is because Nommensen's direct involvement in the Toba War was considered shameful.

The RMG, now the Vereinte Evangelische Mission (VEM), officially confessed to its past missionary mistakes. “We have too often succumbed to the temptation of conspiring with secular rulers at the expense of our native brothers and sisters,” wrote the VEM magazine, In die Welt-fur die Weld, September 27, 1971, quoted by Uli Kozok.

Jan Sihar Aritonang, who was interviewed by Historia, did not deny the historical facts revealed by Uli Kozok. Aritonang, a professor in the Jakarta School of Theology (STT) confirmed that Nommensen acted as a collaborator in the pacification efforts of the Dutch colonial government in the Land of Batak.  

However, the alignment of Nommensen's evangelistic mission with the penetration of colonialism must be seen from the context of the times. Nommensen was a product of 19th century Germany, during which European countries were progressing in civilization.  

“The Christian century, the century of evangelization, is also called the century of enlightenment. It can also be said to be the century of superiority, because it was the peak of the glory of European nations; the peak of colonialism,” said Aritonang.  

“Nommensen was a child of his time,” Aritonang concluded.

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