Bibliography: #BIB14348

web link	bahai-library.com/bibliography/BIB14348
reference type	Book Section
title	Views of Participating Outsiders : Two Civil Servants Leaving the Island of Siberut (Mentawai Archipelago, Indonesia)
book title	The Leiden Tradition in Structural Anthropology : Essays in Honour of P. E. de Josselin de Jong
author	Persoon, Gerard A.
editor	Josselin de Jong, P. E. de, Ridder, R. de and Karremans, Jan A. J.
year	1987
publisher	Brill
place published	Leiden ; New York
ISBN	9004085173 9789004085176
abstract	In February 1932 the civil and military commandant Van Buuren said goodbye to the island of Siberut (Mentawai Archipelago, West Sumatra), where he had been working for a number of years. In a few documents he gave his view on the circumstances and conditions on the island. These had to serve as directives for the policies of his successor. More than 50 years later, in 1985, Hasan Basri boarded the ship that was to take him to Padang, the provincial capital, for the last time in his capacity as district head (carnal). He had ruled the island for a number of years. Just before he left I had several discussions with him about the inhabitants, the island, its development and his influence on it. In this contribution I want to put forward the views of these two civil servants. As outsiders they had been put in charge of the administration over the island for some years. Originating from ethnically different backgrounds, they were transferred to Siberut as civil servants, both with their own formal tasks to execute. For the study of tribal communities like those on Siberut—but also for many others—the influence of the outside world has become an indispensable element. The conceptions of civil servants as participating outsiders are an important addition to the views of local members of the community, not in the last place because of the concrete consequences of their performance. Moreover, these views reveal fragments of the ideology of the dominating society. To put it differently, in this case a colonial mother country and a modern Indonesia are looking over the shoulders of their representatives In this chapter Anthropologist Gerard Persoon interviews Hasan Basri governor of Siberut, Mentawai admits to personally putting an end to the Baha'i communities by forced conversion to Islam or Catholicism. (see p.5) as well as the suppression of the medicine men of the villagers and his general observation that the Mentawaians were "stupid" "In the same way we took action against the Bahai religion, which was very popular in the sixties. During my term of office we gave several hundred Bahai the choice to become either Islamite or Catholic. In any way both Bahai and the traditional religion sabulungan are abolished now. I personally have put an end to that. " (quoting interview with Hasan BasrI). Many years later Persoon would make additional comments in in a subsequent study of how those who refused to convert would be imprisoned or lose their jobs
notes	Edited by R. de Ridder and J.A.J. Karremans. illustrations ; 24 cm "Bibliography of P. E. de Josselin de Jong": pages 64-84 Includes bibliographical references.
keywords	MENTAWEI; INDONESIA; OPPOSITION; PERSECUTION; BASRI, HASAN
pages	141–160
call number	GN362 .L44x 306.07114923
accession number	ocm17762727

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