Martha Christina Tiahahu

Tiahahu was born in Santiago de Abúbu village on Nusalaut Island, in Maluku, on 4 January 1800.[1] Her father was Captain Paulus Tiahahu of the Soa Uluputi clan.[1][2] After her mother died while she was an infant, Tiahahu was raised by her father.[2] As a child, she was stubborn and followed her father wherever he went, at times joining him in planning attacks.[2]

Beginning in 1817. Tiahahu joined her father in a guerrilla war against the Dutch colonial government.[3] They also backed Pattimura's army.[1] She saw several battles. In a battle at Saparua Island, the troops killed Dutch commander Richement and wounded his replacement Commander Meyer.[3] In another battle, she and her troops succeeded in burning Duurstede Fortress to the ground.[2] During battles, she was said to throw stones at the Dutch troops if her soldiers were out of ammunition, while other accounts have her wielding a spear.[2][3] After Vermeulen Kringer took over the Dutch military in Maluku, Tiahahu, her father, and Pattimura were captured in October 1817.[3]

Carried on the HNLMS Evertsen to Nusalaut, Tiahahu was the only captured soldier not punished; this was due to her young age.[3] After a period of time in holding in Fort Beverwijk, where her father was executed, in late 1817 Tiahahu was released.[3] She continued to fight against the Dutch.[2]

In a sweep in December 1817, Tiahahu and several other former rebels were caught.[3] The captured guerrillas were placed on the Evertsen to be transported to Java; they were meant to be used as slave labour on the coffee plantations there.[3] However, on the way, Tiahahu fell ill.[3] Refusing medication and food, she died on 2 January 1818, while the ship was crossing the Banda Sea; she received a burial at sea later that day.[3][2]

The statue to Tiahahu in Ambon

Soon after Indonesia's independence, Tiahahu was declared a National Heroine of Indonesia;[3] 2 January was designated Martha Christina Tiahahu Day.[3] On that day, people in Maluku spread flower petals over the Banda Sea in an official ceremony honouring her struggle.[3] However, the ceremony is smaller than that honouring Pattimura, on 15 May.[3]

Several monuments have been dedicated to Tiahahu. In Ambon, capital of the province of Maluku, an 8-metre (26 ft) tall statue of her holding a spear was erected in 1977; it stands in Karangpanjang overlooking the Banda Sea.[3] In Abubu, a statue of her leading soldiers while holding a spear was erected and dedicated on the 190th anniversary of her death.[2][3] She also has several items named after her, including a street in Karangpanjang, Ambon, and a warship, the KRI Martha Christina Tiahahu.[3]

Other organizations have also taken Tiahahu's name as a symbol of bravery and "spirit of struggle", including a social organization for Moluccans in Jakarta and a women's magazine in Ambon.[3]

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