Last Great Queen of Indonesia Died

On 16th of september 2013 the last great queen of the old Indonesia died. Ratu Dona Martina Diaz Vieira Goidinho of Larantuka in East;Flores.She was born 6 july 1920 as Dona Martina Kinena Ximenes da Silva; daughter of the king of nearby big kingdom Sikka : Moäng Ratu Don Thomas II Ximenes da Silva(minor raja from 1902.installed 6-12-1921). She married the then young raja of Larantuka : Raja Don Lorenzo III Diaz Vieira Godinho, who would be confimred as raja in 1941.Larantuka and Sikka always had been rivals. Larantuka was the biggest symbol of Roman Catholic belief in Indonesia, that still can be witnessed by the special way the celebrate Eastern every year. So the marriage on 12-7-1938 also was a political marriage. Raja Don Lorenzo would be the last ruling raja of Larantuka;until 1962,and died in october 1982. So this last queen of Larantuka survided her king for more than 30 years.She begot 5 sons and 5 daughters. Through her lifetime she saw of course the big changes,that took place in her area in East/Flores/East-Indonesia,but also in the total of Indonesia;from a raja being nearly a half-god to the time of civil rule,where the youth had much less feeling with the royal system. Always she had been the soft touch between the throne:during the time of the rule of Don Lorenzo III,but also during the live of his succesor as nominal-raja her son Don Servus DVG(died 1998)and his brother the present raja Don Andre III Marthinus DVG. Through her upright way of living and believing she stimulated the erspect,that the people and the civil government gave to the raja dynasty of Larantuka,but also to the principle traditional royal system in Indonesia as a whole. Only from the time of royal rule some of the wives probably of the late Susuhunan Paku Buwono XII of Surakarta are still alive(but he had not proclaimed one of them as his official queen), besides in the world of the minor-principalities the widow of the last manek/raja of Diu on Rote island and on the same island the 4th wife of the last ruling manek/raja of Keka(but both were officially only then ruling as civil district rulers). The good God gave Ratu Dona Martina a long life,  so that also the people saw,that royal rule and royal dynasty is not something from the past only,but also gave that warm extra in the life for so many people.She was still respected highly also by local politicians;even candidates from her area,who wanted to become governor of the local province Nusa Tenggara Timur,who sought her blessing for their political campaighn. Like everyhwere on the world espacially in the agricultural areas the dynasties are still respected highly. When she died 16 september 2013 all people were shocked and had honest grieve about it, but also were amazed,that the good God had given her so many years in her life:93 years. During big ceremonies witnessed and attended by an enormous amout of people,the old and formost sweet queen(called with love by the local people and politicians:Mama Ratu:our queen and mother)Dona Martina Kinena Diaz Vieira Godinho-Ximenes da Silva of Larantuka was burried the 19th of september in her roal town of Larantuka, where she had lived for 75 years as the queen of Larantuka. Now there are not really queens of the old time anymore.For sure she was the last queen of Indonesia of the really old time before the 2nd world war,before the independence struggle,when the life;also for the Indonesian dynasties,was quite different and still ruling their areas like their ancestors had done for several centuries. May the present raja of Larantuka;Raja Don Andre III Marthinus Diaz Vieira Godinho, that other appearing representative of the dynasty:Raja Muda Don Emanuel Patigolo Diaz Vieira Godinho,never forget the style of living of this big queen of Larantuka,who was big in her humbleness and true and honest heart. May she now has found the eternal peace in the hands of our God. Amin.

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