A Brush With Royalty
Wednesday, July 09, 1997
By Jon Janis, Ferguson House C'98

---

I HAD my first conversation with a prince. I actually knew him for about a week before I learned of his royal heritage. Daniel da Costa is a prince of ten tribes in Ambon, an island in eastern Indonesia. His father is the king of the tribesâ 200 subjects. One day Danny will

Other Indonesia Stories A typical weekend in Indonesia Wednesday, May 14, 1997 By Hunter Weeks, Ferguson House C'99 Keough's Parting letter Tuesday, April 01, 1997 By Jonathan Keough, Ferguson House C'98 Hunter Weeks & Jonathan Keough

become king, a position he has been raised for his whole life. He has trained his body and emotions as a black belt in Karate. When I ask him, while we are watching a preview for the new Van Damne movie, if he thinks he is a better fighter than Jean-Claude Van Damne he watches for a moment and replies ãI think, yes.ä Danny has also trained his mind and tongue to speak ten languages. Danny da Costa even has all the symbols of Indonesian royalty - he carries an Ambonese bandana, which bears the traditional pattern of his Suli tribe, and he is the guardian of an ancient magical sword. The sword, he explains, has a magic spell cast upon it, which causes anyone who touches it to be forced to murder someone. I asked Danny how it was transported and he told me that there is another spell which can lock the swordâs powers and enable it to carried harmlessly. He goes on to explain that it is your emotions which lock and unlock the sword, and if the person touching the sword is angry then the swordâs curse will be released. I nod understandingly and wonder what the Christian church, which Danny belongs to, thinks of magical swords. At the same time, I have observed that here in Indonesia religion seems to blend well with traditional beliefs. Certainly not all beliefs though. Danny tells me his people were ferocious warriors who presented an enemyâs severed head, rather than an engagement ring, to the women they wished to marry. However, as exotic a portrait as this may paint of Prince Danny da Costa, it is inevitably misleading.

First of all, this is the end of the twentieth century and royalty has evolved a great deal from the days of King Arthur or the crusades. For one thing, Danny was not born in Ambon and he has visited his kingdom only three times in his life. His father, the king, was born there, but he also no longer lives in Ambon. King da Costa lives in Salatiga and runs his kingdom by fax, phone, and the internet. The tasks of running a kingdom have also changed a bit from medieval times, and particularly since the kingdom of Ambon became one of many to join the Republic of Indonesia in 1945. King da Costa does not make royal proclamations over email or levy taxes on his overworked serfs (the Indonesian government handles that for him), so his purpose and authority amounts to overseeing marriages and leading ceremonies. Since he lost the right to levy taxes, the king cannot afford to fly back and forth for each wedding and festival, so when he is needed the tribes split the cost of his airfare. He is also the only king I have encountered who has taken a second job to support his royal family. The king of Ambon is also the secretary to the rector of Satya Wacana Christian University.

As for Danny, he is also completely contemporary. Rather than robes, he sports a faded gray Chicago Bulls t-shirt and worn blue jeans as I talk to him. As well as being a prince he also graduated Satya Wacana as a Tourism major, which is how I got to know him. Danny is one of the Principia friends working for our program. And as impressive as his many accomplishments are, several of the claims should be qualified. All but two of Dannyâs ten languages are native Indonesian languages. Even as an emotional master of Karate he told me he still cried all day when he lost three pairs of Nikes on one of his trips to Ambon. Most ironic of all is that although Danny is next in line to be king, he plans to abdicate the throne to his younger brother and focus all his energy on managing his cousinâs new restaurant in Jakarta. And as far as the murder charges Danny would face if he killed a tribal enemy with his ancient sword for his fiancee, it turns out that the Ambonese people ended that tradition in Prehistoric times. So Prince Danny da Costa is free to propose to his girlfriend in any manner he wants.