Native Indonesians, also known as Pribumi (), are Indonesians whose ancestral roots lie mainly in the archipelago, distinguished from Indonesians of known (partial) foreign descent, like Chinese Indonesians (Tionghoa), Arab Indonesians, Indian Indonesians and Indo-Europeans (Eurasians). Etymology and historical context The term was popularized after Indonesian independence as a respectful replacement for the Dutch colonial term (normally translated as "native" and seen as derogatory). It derives from Sanskrit terms pri (before) and bhumi (earth). Before independence the term (Malay: son of the soil) was more commonly used as an equivalent term to pribumi. Following independence, the term was normally used to distinguish indigenous Indonesians from citizens of foreign descent (especially Chinese Indonesians). Common usage distinguished between pribumi and non-pribumi. Although the term is sometimes translated as "indigenous", it has a broader meaning than that associated with Indigenous peoples. The term (WNI = "Indonesian citizen", keturunan asing = foreign descent), sometimes just WNI keturunan or even WNI, has also been used to designate non-pribumi Indonesians. In practice, usage of the term is fluid. Pribumi is seldom used to refer to Indonesians of Melanesian descent, such as Moluccans and Papuans, although it does not exclude them. Indonesians of Arab descent sometimes refer to themselves as pribumi. Indonesians with some exogenous ancestry who show no obvious signs of identification with that ancestry (such as former President Abdurrahman Wahid who is said to have had Chinese ancestry) are seldom called non-pribumi. The term bumiputra is sometimes used in Indonesia with the same meaning as pribumi, but is more commonly used in Malaysia, where it has a slightly different meaning. The term putra daerah ("son of the region") refers to a person who is indigenous to a specific locality or region. In 1998, the Indonesian government of President B. J. Habibie instructed that neither pribumi nor non-pribumi should be used, on the grounds that they promoted ethnic discrimination. The Dutch East India Company, which dominated parts of the archipelago from the 17th century, classified its subjects mainly by religion, rather than ethnicity. The colonial administration which took power in 1815 shifted to a system of ethnic classification. Initially they distinguished between Europeans (Europeanen) and those equated with them (including native Christians) and Inlanders and those equated with them (including non-Christian Asians). Over time, native were gradually shifted de facto into the Inlander category, while Chinese Indonesians, Arab Indonesians and others of non-Indonesian descent were gradually