Sisingamangaraja XII, National Hero of Indonesia
Sisingamangaraja XII Sisingamangaraja XII was born Patuan Besar Ompu Pulo Batu in Bakkara, Tapanuli, in 1849. He was the successor to his father Sisingamangaraja XI, who died in 1867. He was the last in a line of figures known as parmalim who were regarded as divine kings and incarnations of Batara Guru, the Javanese version of the god Shiva. The Sisingamangaraja was believed to have powers such as the ability drive away evil spirits, call forth the rain and control rice-growing. He wasn't normally seen as a political figure, but when Dutch colonists and missionaries began penetrating north Sumatra from the 1850s onwards both Sisingamangaraja XI and XII became the focus of Batak resistance to colonial rule. Although they were not personally anti-Christian, the two Sisingamangarajas faced pressure to act from traditiona list Batak chiefs and the neighbouring Sultanate of Aceh, which was at war with the Dutch from 1873. In February 1878, Sisingamangaraja XII held a religious cer...