Aritonang

Mission Schools In Batakland (Indonesia), 1861-1940 Aritonang

The expansion of Christianity is often described from the viewpoint of the western missionaries. This work focuses on the large group of indigenous teachers and their pupils at the mission schools in Batakland. These educational activities have provided the most important incentive for the birth and growth of the Lutheran Batak Church since 1860. With three million members this is the largest protestant church in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian country with 190 million inhabitants, 85% of whom are Muslim. The study is based on archival sources in German, Dutch, Indonesian and Batak, as well as on interviews with local teachers. The case study considers the place of education within the missionary enterprise, the co-operation and conflicts between foreign missionaries and their indigenous helpers, the delicate relationship between the Dutch colonial government and a German mission board. The work is an English translation of the author's doctoral dissertation.