Albert Christian Kruyt

Albert Christian Kruyt (Dutch: Albertus Christiaan Kruyt; 10 October 1869 – 19 January 1949) was a Dutch Calvinist missionary, ethnographer and theologian who pioneered Christianity in Poso, Indonesia.^[1]

Albert Christian Kruyt
Albertus Christiaan Kruyt
Kruyt in his final years
Born	Albertus Christiaan Kruijt (1869-10-10)10 October 1869 Mojowarno, Jombang, Dutch East Indies
Died	19 January 1949(1949-01-19) (aged 79) The Hague, Netherlands
Occupations	Missionary ethnographer theologian author
Notable work	De Bare'e-sprekende Toradja's van Midden-Celebes [id]
School	Reformed, Calvinist

Born in Mojowarno, East Java, in 1869, Kruyt grew up in a missionary family^[2] and went to the Netherlands for education in 1877. Returning to the Indies in 1890, he was stationed in Gorontalo. The Netherlands Missionary Society (NZG) sent him to establish a new mission in Poso in 1892.^[3][4] Despite early setbacks, the first baptism occurred in 1909, and the number of converts grew steadily.^[5] His mission expanded through the highlands to the Gulf of Bone by the 1920s.^[6] Elected a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1898, Kruyt resigned in 1932 but became a regular member in 1933.^[7] Kruyt left the Dutch East Indies in 1932 and died in The Hague in 1949.

Kruyt is known for his ethno-sociological approach, believing that understanding local cultures was essential for successful missionary work.^[8] He argued that missionaries must understand the link between thought and community life to win hearts^[9] and preferred voluntary conversions over coercion.^[10] Kruyt is regarded as a leading theorist, missionary, and ethnographer of the early 20th century.^[11] His mission in Poso and Central Sulawesi was a significant success.^[6] His works on ethnography and evangelism are highly valued, especially the book he co-authored with Nicolaus Adriani, De Bare'e-sprekende Toradja's van Midden-Celebes (The Bare'e speaking Toraja of Central Sulawesi), which remains a key ethnological resource.^[12]

References

1. Enklaar 1978, p. 111; Schrauwers 2000, p. 5; Aragon 2000, p. 101.
2. Enklaar 1978, p. 111; Keane 2007, pp. 97–98.
3. Aragon 2000, p. 101; Coté 2010, p. 12.
4. Henley 2005, p. 47.
5. Aragon 2000, p. 104.
6. Schrauwers 2000, p. 9.
7. "A.C. Kruyt (1869 - 1949)". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
8. Kruyt 1915, pp. 86–87.
9. Schoor-Lambregts 1992, p. 104.
10. Aragon 2000, p. 103.
11. Coté 2010, p. 14; Hefner 2001, p. 575.
12. Rassers 1949, p. 163.

Sources

• Aragon, Lorraine [in Indonesian] (2000). Fields of the Lord: Animism, Christianity, and State Development in Indonesia. University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-82-482303-0. LCCN 99058189.
• Hefner, Robert W. (2001). "Fields of the Lord: Animism, Christian Minorities, and State Development in Indonesia". Book Reviews - Anthropology of religion. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 7 (3): 612–623. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.00079.
• Henley, David [in Indonesian] (2005). Fertility, Food and Fever: Population, Economy and Environment in North and Central Sulawesi, 1600-1930. Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (201). KITLV Press. ISBN 978-9-06-718209-6. LCCN 2006402352.
• Keane, Webb (2007). Christian Moderns: Freedom and Fetish in the Mission Encounter. The Anthropology of Christianity. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-52-093921-9. LCCN 2006019220.
• Schrauwers, Albert [in Indonesian] (2000). Colonial 'reformation' in the Highlands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, 1892–1995. Anthropological Horizons (14). University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-80-208303-6. LCCN 00698098.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Kruyt, Albert Christian (1915). "The Presentation of Christianity to Primitive Peoples: The Toradja Tribes of Central Sulawesi". International Review of Mission. 4 (1): 81–95. doi:10.1111/j.1758-6631.1915.tb00766.x.

Publications

• Brouwer, Klaas Johan (1951). Dr A. C. Kruyt: dienaar der Toradja's (in Dutch). J. N. Voorhoeve.
• Boetzelaer, C. W. Th. van [in Indonesian] (1949). "Albertus Christiaan Kruyt (1869–1949)". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (in Dutch). 105: 143–146. doi:10.1163/22134379-90002492.
• Coté, Joost (2010). "Missionary Albert Kruyt and Colonial Modernity in the Dutch East Indies". Itinerario. 34 (3): 11–24. doi:10.1017/S0165115310000653. S2CID 161927061.
• Enklaar, Ido Hendricus (1978). "Kruyt, Albertus Christiaan". Biografisch Lexicon voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands Protestantisme. Nachruf (in Dutch). Vol. 1. J. H. Kok. pp. 111–113.
• Enklaar, Ido Hendricus (1981). "Kom over en help ons!" Twaalf opstellen over de Nederlandse zending in de negentiende eeuw (in Dutch). Boekencentrum.
• Noort, Gerrit [in Indonesian] (2006). De weg van magie tot geloof: Leven en werk van Albert C. Kruyt (1869-1949), zendeling-leraar in Midden-Celebes, Indonesië [The Path from Magic to Faith: The Life and Work of Albert C. Kruyt (1869-1949), Missionary-Teacher in Central Celebes, Indonesia] (in Dutch). University of Utrecht. ISBN 978-9-02-392155-4.
• Rassers, Willem Huibert [in Indonesian] (1949). "Herdenking van Albertus Christiaan Kruyt". Jaarboek, 1948-1949. Nachruf (in Dutch). Vol. 1948–1949. Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. pp. 161–170. hdl:2027/mdp.39015073712591.
• Schoor-Lambregts, A.J. van der (1992). "Het heerlijke en schoone werk der Zending: Alb. C. Kruyt over Celebes". Indische Letteren (in Dutch). Vol. 7, no. 4. Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde. pp. 98–108.