 Prior to the arrival of the Dutch East India Company, the people of what is now Dairi lived in traditional "adat"-regulated communities, with unelected local leaders.After the arrival of the Dutch they established an ethnic-Dutch "controleur" to be in charge of the Dairi "onder afdeling", as well as a native Indonesian "demang", or lieutenant.When the Japanese occupied Indonesia beginning in 1942, the Dairi area was also occupied; during this time, local youths were used as forced labour to build the long Sidikalang road and the Dutch were removed.