Page 21 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

In the meantime, the trade and political competition had also become more
international. There were times when the European power—Spain, Portuguese, Dutch,
and then UK too—was competing and even defeating one another, but there were also
times when they let go off their own position. In the meantime, the local kingdoms kept
joyfully searching for opportunities to maintain dignity or even expand their influence.
In this situation when the competition was multi-faceted, Timor Island was practically
split into two—the Western part was ruled by the Dutch, while the Eastern part by the
Portuguese. The Majority of the indigenous people of Timor Island were Christian.
When various events leaving strong impressions were thought about, then there came
also a question of what was the meaning of united situation expressed by Prapanca in
Nagarakrtagama? What was the real meaning of unity of the entire Nusantara world he
described? Were all of these just political desires poured into historical descriptions in a
mythological situation as once uttered by a well-known Dutch scientist (CC. Berg)? Or in
other words, was a situation imagining a political unity under Majapahit just a myth? Were
all of these only real in the historical stories resulted from a political illusion? Or the claim
of power unity in real was an authentic description of historical reality as what Mohammad
Yamin wanted to focus on? Whatever the answer might be given, an admittance of
a simple reality was unavoidable—since the incidence was recorded or just a part of
collective memories, the Nusantara region from the Western tip to the Eastern tip had
been involved in the series of incidence and events which were related. There were times
when the relationship was pretty intensive but there were also times when aloofness of
relationship also took place.
If the old stories inherited from generation to generation and the collective memories
which might have mixed up with myths or even fantasies were learned then various stories
on the dynamics of maritime life would just reveal like that. When the political incidence
and the beginning of cultural bond which had been recorded in the inscriptions or
remembered in the traditional historiography or collective memories had been taken care
of then besides the stories on the dynamics of maritime traditions, the stories on various
physical anatomy and the differences of language systems as well as vocabulary would be
obtained. The fall of a big power such as Sriwijaya (at the end of 13th century) and then
Malaka and Majapahit (in the beginning of 16th century) turned out not just as the cause
of the setbacks in the maritime traditions. The fall of the two big powers even widened the
area of cruise, sailing and even trading.

Introduction 21

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