Kisar Island

Kisar

Native name: Yotowawa
Kisar in the south of Maluku Islands as a part of the Barat Daya Islands
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Coordinates	8°04′S 127°11′E / 8.06°S 127.18°E / -8.06; 127.18
Area	81.83 km2 (31.59 sq mi)
Administration
Indonesia
Province	Maluku
Kabupaten	Maluku Barat Daya
Kecamatan	Pulau-Pulau Terselatan

Kisar, also known as Yotowawa, is a small island in the Southwestern Moluccas in Indonesia. It is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia.

It is located to the northeast of Timor Island in an area of active tectonics.

The Oirata language, (closely related to Fataluku) and the unrelated Kisar, a trade language (also locally known as Yotowawa or Meher), are spoken here.

The Timor Monitor (Varanus timorensis) is found in Kisar.

1665 the Dutch VOC built a military base and named the island after the Kisar word for white sand. From the European outpost on Kisar a relatively large Indo Eurasian community developed named the 'Mestizo from Kisar' to this day their descendants live as Rajas and chiefs on Kisar. Surviving family names include: Joostenz, Wouthuysen, Caffin, Lerrick, Peelman, Lander, Ruff, Bellmin-Belder, Coenradi, van Delsen, Schilling and Bakker.

In 1795 Kisar was under British rule, in 1803 it was under Dutch/French rule and in 1810 again under English rule. 1817 Kisar was returned to the Dutch until the outpost was abandoned in 1819. After that time Kisar upheld close ties with their Portuguese, Topasses and Timorese neighbours on Timor.

After WWII and Indonesia's independence the island was temporarily considered part of the segregated RMS, but ultimately became part of the unitary Indonesian state.

The current and 12th Raja (king) of Kisar, Johannes J. Bakker, succeeded his father Raja Hairmere Philipus Zacharias Bakker. The first Raja Cornelis Bakker, who also ruled Wetar, Roma and Leti island via his brothers, was crowned ca. 1665.

Nowadays the Raja is respected as a traditional dignitary, but has no political power. The present Raja is well educated and for 5 years worked as a government official in nearby East-Timor, when part of Indonesia. There he met his wife Maria Antonette Ribeiru.