Maluku is a
province of Indonesia
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
. It comprises the central and southern regions of the
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...
. The main city and capital of Maluku province is
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
on the small
Ambon Island. The land area is 62,946 km
2, and the total population of this province at the 2010 census was 1,533,506 people, rising to 1,848,923 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2021 was 1,862,626. Maluku is located in Eastern Indonesia. It is directly adjacent to
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
and
West Papua in the north,
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi ( Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 fo ...
, and
Southeast Sulawesi
Southeast Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Tenggara) is a province on the island of Sulawesi, forming the southeastern peninsula of that island, together with a number of substantial offshore islands such as Buton, Muna, Kabaena and Wawonii (formerly ...
in the west,
Banda Sea
The Banda Sea ( id, Laut Banda, pt, Mar de Banda, tet, Tasi Banda) is one of four seas that surround the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, connected to the Pacific Ocean, but surrounded by hundreds of islands, including Timor, as well as the Halma ...
,
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
and
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...
in the south and
Arafura Sea
The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea.
Geography
The Arafura S ...
and
Papua in the east.
Maluku has two main religions, namely
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
which at the 2020 Census was adhered to by 52.85% of the population of the province and Christianity which is embraced by 46.3% (39.4%
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and 7.0%
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
).
Maluku is recorded in the history of the world due to conflict or tragedy of humanitarian crisis and
sectarian conflict
Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is a form of communal violence which is inspired by sectarianism, that is, discrimination, hatred or prejudice between different sects of a particular mode of an ideology or different sects of a religion ...
between Islam and Christianity, which is better known as the Ambon Tragedy. After 2002, Maluku changed its face to become a friendly and peaceful province in Indonesia, for which the world gave a sign of appreciation in the form of
World Peace Gong placed at Ambon City Center.
All the Maluku Islands were part of a single province from 1950 until 1999. In 1999, the northern part of Maluku (then comprising the
Maluku Utara Regency, the
Halmahera Tengah Regency and the City of
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...
) were split off to form a separate province of
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
().
Etymology
Historically, the term Maluku referred to the four royal centers in North Maluku, namely
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...
,
Tidore
Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...
,
Bacan and
Jailolo
Jailolo is a volcanic complex on a peninsula (Jailolo Bay), west of Halmahera island. It has lava flows on the eastern flank, small caldera at the west and south-west of the mountain, hot springs along the north-west coast of the caldera. Small ...
. A type of confederation consisting of the four kingdoms, which most likely emerged in the 14th century, was called Moloku Kie Raha or "Four Mountains of Maluku". Although the four kingdoms subsequently expanded and covered the entire North Maluku region (as now defined) and parts of
Sulawesi and
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, the area of expansion was originally not included in the term Maluku. This only referred to the four main clove-producing islands to the west of
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Ha ...
: Ternate, Tidore.
Moti
Moti or MOTI may refer to:
Names
* Mordecai (disambiguation), a Hebrew given name, abbreviated Moti
* Motilal (disambiguation), an Indian given name often abbreviated Moti
People
* Moti (DJ) (Timotheus "Timo" Romme, born 1987), Dutch DJ and mu ...
and
Makian
Makian (also Machian), known to local people as Mount Kie Besi, is a volcanic island, one of the Maluku Islands within the province of North Maluku in Indonesia. It lies near the southern end of a chain of volcanic islands off the western coast ...
. Bacan further to the south, and Jailolo on Halmahera, were also commonly included in Maluku Proper, the four kingdoms forming a ritual quadripartition with connotations to local cosmology.
The etymology of the word ''Maluku'' is not very clear, and it has been a matter of debate for many experts. The first recorded word that can be identified with ''Maluku'' comes from
Nagarakretagama
The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a '' kakawin'' by Mpu Pr ...
, an
Old Javanese
Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the island ...
eulogy of 1365. Canto 14 stanza 5 mentioned ''Maloko'', which Pigeaud identified with
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...
or Moluccas. A theory holds that the name Maluku comes from the concept of “Maluku Kie Raha”. “Raha” means four, while “kie” here means mountain, referring to 4 mountains of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, and Jailolo (Halmahera), which have their own kolano (title for local kings). Therefore, the Maluku can come from: “Moloku” here meaning to grasp or hold. In this context, the meaning of “Moloku Kie Raha” is “confederation of four mountain”. However, the root word “loku” comes from local Malay creole word for a unit, therefore not from an indigenous language. The other possibility is that the word “Maloko” is a combination of “Ma”, meaning "support" and “Loko” referring to the area. The phrase “Maloko Kie Raha” means “the place/world which has four mountains”.
History
Pre-colonial era
The region was first settled by Melanesians at least 40,000 years ago,collectively now known as the Alifuru tribes.These people are the Indigineous inhabitants and the bedrock of Maluku society,along with the later Austronesian migration.
At the beginning of the 14th century the
Majapahit Kingdom ruled the entire sea area of Southeast Asia. At that time, traders from Java monopolized the spice trade in Maluku.
In the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
, spices from Maluku were introduced in various works of art and history. In a painting by W.P. Groeneveldt, titled Gunung Dupa, Maluku, is described as a green mountainous region filled with cloves – an oasis in the middle of the southeastern sea.
Marco Polo also described the clove trade in Maluku during his visit to
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.
Colonial era
The first Europeans to find Maluku were the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, in 1512. At that time two Portuguese fleets, under the leadership of
António de Abreu
António de Abreu () was a 16th-century Portuguese navigator and naval officer. He participated under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque in the Capture of Ormuz (1507), conquest of Ormus in 1507 and Capture of Malacca (1511), Malacca in 1511, wh ...
and
Francisco Serrão
Francisco Serrão (died 1521) was a Portuguese explorer and a possible cousin of Ferdinand Magellan. His 1512 voyage was the first known European sailing east past Malacca through modern Indonesia and the East Indies. He became a confidant of S ...
respectively, landed in the
Banda Islands
The Banda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Banda) are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the Central ...
and the
Penyu Islands. After they established friendships with local residents and kings – such as with the
Sultanate of Ternate on the island of
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...
, the Portuguese were given permission to build fortifications in Pikaoli, as well as the old Hitu State, and Mamala on Ambon Island. The Portuguese adopted a monopoly system while at the same time carrying out the spread of
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
One of the famous missionaries was
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
. Arrived in Ambon on February 14, 1546, then traveled to Ternate, arriving in 1547, and tirelessly visited islands in the Maluku Islands to spread
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
The relationship between the Portuguese and Ternatean broke down in 1570,
resulting in a war with Sultan
Babullah that lasted for 5 years (1570–1575), causing the Portuguese to be expelled from Ternate and were driven to
Tidore
Tidore ( id, Kota Tidore Kepulauan, lit. "City of Tidore Islands") is a city, island, and archipelago in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. Part of North Maluku Province, the city includes the island ...
and Ambon.
The resistance of the Moluccas to the Portuguese was used by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
to set foot in Maluku. In 1605, the Dutch managed to force the Portuguese to surrender their defenses in Ambon to
Steven van der Hagen
Steven van der Hagen (Amersfoort, 1563 – 1621) was the first admiral of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He made three visits to the East Indies, spending six years in all there. He was appointed to the Raad van Indië. Van der Hage ...
and at Tidore to the Sebastiansz Cornelisz. Similarly, the English fortress in Kambelo,
Seram Island, was destroyed by the Dutch. Since then the Dutch succeeded in controlling most of the Maluku region.
The Dutch position in Maluku grew stronger with the establishment of the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) in 1602, and since then
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
has become the sole ruler in Maluku. Under the leadership of
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...
, Chief of Operations of the VOC, the clove trade in Maluku was under VOC control for almost 350 years. For this purpose, the VOC did not hesitate to expel its competitors;
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
. Even tens of thousands of Moluccans were victims of VOC brutality.
During the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, British forces captured Maluku as the Netherlands were under
French occupation. After the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 (also known as the Convention of London; nl, Verdrag van Londen) was signed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 13 August 1814.
The treaty restored most of the territories in Java that B ...
, the British returned Maluku to the Dutch. The Dutch returned in 1817.
The return of the Dutch in 1817 evoked strong resistance from the Moluccans. This was due to political, economic and social relations conditions that had been bad for two centuries. Moluccan people of the Ambon Islands finally rose to take up arms under the leadership of
Thomas Matulessy who was given the title Kapitan Pattimura, a former major sergeant of the British army.
On May 15, 1817 an attack was launched against the
Fort Duurstede on
Saparua
Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku; the island of Haruku lies between Saparua and Ambon. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua. The island of Maolana is located near its southwestern side an ...
island, resulting in the death of Resident Johannes Rudolph van den Berg and his family.
[Peter van Zonneveld (199]
Pattimura en het kind van Saparua. De Molukken-opstand van 1817 in de Indisch-Nederlandse literatuur
''Indische Letteren'', 10:41–54. Pattimura was assisted by his friends; Philip Latumahina, Anthony Ribok, and Said Orders.
The news of this Pattimura's victory aroused the spirit of popular resistance throughout Maluku. Paulus Tiahahu and his daughter
Martha Christina Tiahahu fought the Dutch on
Nusa Laut
Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province.
It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fring ...
, and Kapitan Ulupaha in Ambon.
But this resistance was crushed by the Dutch due to being heavily outnumbered. On December 16, 1817, Pattimura and his friends were sentenced to death on gallows, at Fort Niew Victoria, Ambon, while
Martha Christina Tiahahu died on the boat during her voyage to Java and her body was released into the Banda Sea.
Modern era
The outbreak of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
on December 7, 1941 as part of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
recorded a new era in the history of colonialism in Indonesia.
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
A.W.L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh via radio stated that the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
government was in a state of war with the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
. The
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
did not encounter much resistance in Maluku. In the Maluku, Japanese forces entered from the north through the island of
Morotai
Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands.
Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...
and from the east through the island of
Misool
Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (Dutch: Misoöl) or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located ...
. In a short time the entire Maluku Islands was occupied by Japan. In World War II,
Australian soldiers
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
had fought against Japanese soldiers in Tawiri. And, to commemorate it, an Australian monument was built in Tawiri (not far from
Pattimura Airport
Pattimura International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Pattimura) is an airport in Ambon, Maluku. The airport is located 38 kilometers west of the city of Ambon. The airport was named after Pattimura (1783–1817), an Indonesian na ...
). The Allied forces surrendered to the Japanese in Ambon after the bloody
Battle of Ambon
The Battle of Ambon (30 January – 3 February 1942) occurred on the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), as part of the Japanese offensive on the Dutch colony during World War II. In the face of a combined defense by Dutc ...
, The battle was followed by the
summary execution
A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...
of more than 300 Allied
PoWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
in the
Laha massacre.
On August 15, 1945, the Japanese
capitulated to the
Allied forces. Two days later, the
Proclamation of Independence of Indonesia was declared. Maluku was declared as one of the provinces of the Republic of Indonesia. However, the formation and position of Maluku at that time was forced to take place in Jakarta, because as soon as the Japanese surrendered, the
Netherlands Indies Civil Administration
The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (abbreviated NICA; nl, Nederlandsch-Indische Civiele Administratie) was a semi-military organisation, established April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonia ...
(NICA) immediately entered Maluku to assume control. Dutch controlled Maluku until 1949, when in accords of the
Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference
The Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference was held in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949, between representatives of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the Federal Consultative Assembly, representing va ...
, the Dutch recognize sovereignty of Indonesia. The Dutch soon left Maluku. Due to a deep distrust of the Indonesian leadership, which was predominantly Javanese
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, in 1951 an independent
Republic of the South Moluccas
South Maluku, also South Moluccas, officially the Republic of South Maluku, was an unrecognised secessionist republic that claimed the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram, which make up the Indonesian province of Maluku.
Dutch conquest exerte ...
(
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
: RMS, Republik Maluku Selatan) was proclaimed at Ambon, supported by the Dutch. The RMS had strong support among the former Moluccans
colonial soldier. As a consequence, Indonesian forces invaded Maluku to crush the separatists. The main stronghold of the rebellious RMS group on
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
was defeated by Indonesian forces in November 1950, while a smaller scale guerilla struggle continued on
Seram Island until 1962. The defeat on Ambon however resulted in the flight of the self-declared RMS government from the islands, and the formation of a
government in exile
A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...
in the Netherlands. The following year some 12,000 Moluccan soldiers accompanied by their families went to the Netherlands, where they established a "Republic of the South Moluccas" government-in-exile.
In April and May 1958 during the
Permesta
Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia, its name based on the Universal Struggle Charter (or ''Piagam Perjuangan Semesta'') that was declared on 2 March 1957 by civil and military leaders in East Indonesia. Initially the center of the movem ...
rebellion in
North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...
, the USA supported and supplied the rebels. Pilots from a
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
-based
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
front organisation
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...
,
Civil Air Transport
Civil Air Transport (CAT) was a Nationalist Chinese airline, later owned by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia. During the Cold War, missions consisted i ...
, flying CIA
B-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...
aircraft, repeatedly bombed and machine-gunned targets on Ambon. From April 27 until 18 May there were
CIA air raids on Ambon city. Also, on May 8, 1958 CIA pilot
Allen Pope bombed and machine-gunned the
Indonesian Air Force
The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The ...
base at Liang in the northeast of the island, damaging the runway and destroying a
Consolidated PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
. The Indonesian Air Force had only one serviceable fighter aircraft on Ambon Island, a
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...
at Liang. Pope's last air raid was on 18 May, when an Indonesian pilot at Liang, Captain Ignatius Dewanto, was scrambled to the P-51. Pope had attacked Ambon city before Dewanto could catch him, but Dewanto intercepted him just as Pope was attacking one of a pair of troop ships in an Indonesian fleet west of Ambon Island. The B-26 was brought down by fire from both Dewanto and shipborne anti-aircraft gunners. Pope and his Indonesian radio operator bailed out and were captured, which immediately exposed the level of CIA support for the Permesta rebellion. Embarrassed, the
Eisenhower administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ov ...
quickly ended CIA support for Permesta and withdrew its agents and remaining aircraft from the conflict.
The
Maluku sectarian conflict
The Maluku Islands sectarian conflict was a period of ethno-political conflict along religious lines, which spanned the Indonesian islands that compose the Maluku archipelago, with particularly serious disturbances in Ambon and Halmahera island ...
broke out across Maluku in January 1999. The subsequent 18 months were characterized by fighting between largely local groups of Muslims and Christians, the destruction of thousands of houses, the displacement of approximately 500,000 people, the loss of thousands of lives, and the segregation of Muslims and Christians. Inter-communal fighting broke out between Christian and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
communities in January 1999, cascading into what could be described as all out warfare and atrocities against the civilian population committed by both sides.
The main belligerents were therefore religious militia from both faiths,
including the well organised
Islamist Laskar Jihad,
and
Indonesian government military forces. The conflict had a significant effect upon the 2.1 million people of greater Maluku. Leading up to the Malino agreement, the
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
estimated that 700,000 people had been displaced by the four years of fighting in the Moluccas which is thought to have claimed a minimum of 5,000 lives.
This constituted the largest movement of
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. since the federation of the Indonesian state and the majority of the 1.4 million
Internal refugee
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
A ...
s reported in February 2002 by the
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
. The duration of the conflict is generally dated from the start of the
Reformasi era in early 1999 to the signing of the
Malino II Accord
The Malino II Accord was signed on 13 February 2002 as a settlement between warring parties in the Maluku sectarian conflict that commenced in 1999 in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. (February 12 according to the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth O ...
on February 13, 2002.
Geography
Maluku is bordered by
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
in the north,
West Papua in the East,
Southeast Sulawesi
Southeast Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Tenggara) is a province on the island of Sulawesi, forming the southeastern peninsula of that island, together with a number of substantial offshore islands such as Buton, Muna, Kabaena and Wawonii (formerly ...
and
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi ( Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,635,009 fo ...
in the West, and the nation of
Timor-Leste
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
and Australia in the south. While in total 581 areas were 376 km2 consisting of 527 191 km2 of marine sea area, and 54 185 km2 of sea area, or in other words around 90% of Maluku were sea areas. As an archipelago province, Maluku has 559 islands which have relatively large islands, including:
Seram
Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...
(18 625 km2),
Buru
Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to Ma ...
(9000 km2)
Yamdena
Yamdena (spelt Jamdena during the Dutch colonial period) is the largest of the Tanimbar Islands in the Maluku Province of Indonesia. Saumlaki is the chief town, located on the south end of the island.
The island has a range of forested hills al ...
(5085 km2) and
Wetar
Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku and is the largest island of the Maluku Barat Daya Islands (literally ''Southwest Islands'') of the Maluku Islands. It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which i ...
(3624 km2). With the dominant condition of regional waters, Maluku is very open to interacting with other provinces and surrounding countries.
Maluku islands have a tropical monsoon climate, this climate is greatly influenced by the presence of vast marine waters and takes place in tune with the climatic season there. The average temperature based on Meteorological stations in
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
, Tual and Saumlaki are C 26.80, 27.70 C and 27.40 C. Minimum temperatures are 24.00, 24.70 C and 23.80 C, respectively, while the temperature Tual, the average humidity reaches 85.4% when recording Saumlaki Meteorological Station shows the average humidity is 80.2%.
The topography of the average condition of the Ambon region is rather flat, starting from the coast to residential areas. The mainland morphology of Ambon also varies from flat, bumpy, bumpy, hilly and mountainous with soft steep slopes to slightly dominant. The flat area has a slope of 0–3%, corrugated slope 3–8%, corrugated area 8–15%, hilly area 15–30% slope elevation and mountainous area greater than 30%. As for the
Central Maluku Regency
Central Maluku Regency ( id, Kabupaten Maluku Tengah) is a regency of Maluku Province of Indonesia. The Regency covers an area of 11,595.57 km2, and had a population of 361,698 at the 2010 Census, and 423,094 at the 2020 Census. The official ...
, West Seram and East Seram, the topography is generally hilly. 0–2%, tilt / wavy 3–15% rather steep 15–40% and very steep 40%.
Topography in the
Southeast Maluku Regency
Southeast Maluku Regency ( id, Kabupaten Maluku Tenggara) is a regency of Maluku, Indonesia. It is coincident with the Kei Islands, except that the city of Tual, although within the Kei Islands geographically and the seat of the Regency's administ ...
is divided into plains, hills and mountains with flat slopes (0–3%), flat / bumpy (0–3%), bumpy (8–15%), rather steep (15–30%) and very steep (> 50%). The height of the sea surface area is divided into three classes, namely in the low altitude area (000–100 m elevation), middle (100–500 m), and high altitude (> 500 m).
The topography of
Buru Regency
Buru Regency is a regency of Maluku province, Indonesia. When it was first created on 4 October 1999, the regency encompassed the entire island (plus outlying islands, of which Amalau is the largest); but on 24 June 2008 the southern 40% of the i ...
is mostly hilly and mountainous with a slope of 15–40% and 40%, the remaining height is from ordinary varieties. The highest mountain peak is located in the Kapalamada region north west of Buru with an altitude of 2736 meters above sea level (ASL), after Lake Rana with a height of more than 1000 meters above sea level, Lake Rana is estimated at around 700–750 meters above sea level. Using a landscape approach, Buru district is classified above, the coastal hills of the plains and mountains include varieties of highlands and slopes.
List of major islands in Maluku
![Maluku Islands en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Maluku_Islands_en.png)
*
Ambon Island
*
Aru Islands
The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...
(Kepulauan Aru)
*
Babar Island
The Babar Islands ''(''Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Babar)'' are located in Maluku Province, Indonesia between latitudes 7 degrees 31 minutes South to 8 degrees 13 minutes South and from longitudes 129 degrees 30 minutes East to 130 degrees 05 minutes ...
s
*
Banda Islands
The Banda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Banda) are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and constitute an administrative district (''kecamatan'') within the Central ...
(Kepulauan Banda)
*
Buru
Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to Ma ...
*
Damer Island (Kepulauan Damar)
*
Kai Islands
The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such ...
(Kepulauan Kai)
*
Gorong archipelago
The Gorom (formerly called Gorong) archipelago is a group of islands situated between the Watubela archipelago and Ceram in the Maluku Islands.
History
The ''Nagarakretagama'', an Old Javanese eulogy to king Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit written in 1 ...
(Pulau-pulau Gorong)
*
Lease Islands
The Lease Islands, formerly called the Uliasers or Uliassers, are a group of three inhabited islands (and smaller uninhabited islets), lying immediately to the south of Seram and east of Ambon Island in the province of Maluku (province), Maluku, ...
(''Kepulauan Lease'') includes
Saparua
Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku; the island of Haruku lies between Saparua and Ambon. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua. The island of Maolana is located near its southwestern side an ...
,
Nusa Laut
Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province.
It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fring ...
and
Haruku Island
Haruku Island is an island in Central Maluku Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia - lying east of Ambon Island, off the southern coast of Seram and just west of Saparua. It is administered as a single district, ''Kecamatan Pulau Haruku'', with a ...
s
*
Leti Islands The Letti Islands () of Indonesia are part of the Maluku Islands, in southwest Maluku Province. (The spelling Leti Islands is also used sometimes.) They are also called the "Lemola" Archipelago, from the initial two letters of each of the three mai ...
(Kepulauan Leti) includes Leti, Moa and Lakor
*
Seram
Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...
*
Sermata Islands (Kepulauan Sermata)
* Southwestern Islands (
Barat Daya Islands
The Barat Daya Islands ( id, Kepulauan Barat Daya) are a group of islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The Indonesian phrase ''barat daya'' means 'south-west'.
Geography
These islands are located off the eastern end of East Timor. Wetar ...
) includes
Wetar Island,
Kisar Island
Kisar, also known as ''Yotowawa'', is a small island in the Southwestern Moluccas in Indonesia, located to the northeast of Timor Island. Most of the island is included within the Southernmost Islands District ('' Kecamatan Pulau Pulau Terselatan ...
and Romang Island
*
Tanimbar Islands
The Tanimbar Islands, also called ''Timur Laut'', are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The largest and most central of the islands is Yamdena; others include Selaru to the southwest of Yamdena, Larat and Ford ...
(Kepulauan Tanimbar)
*
Watubela archipelago
Watubela is an archipelago in the Maluku Islands, east of Ceram and north of Kai Islands, southeast of the Gorong archipelago, and southwest of the Bomberai Peninsula of Papua, Indonesia. It includes the islands of Watubela itself, Kesui (also ...
(Kepulauan Watubela)
*
Wetar
Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku and is the largest island of the Maluku Barat Daya Islands (literally ''Southwest Islands'') of the Maluku Islands. It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which i ...
Administrative divisions
Following the splitting off of the northern parts of the regency in 1999 to form the new
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
Province (''Maluku Utara''), the residual province of Maluku was composed of two regencies (Central Maluku and Southeast Maluku) and the City of Ambon, but on 4 October 1999 two new regencies were created with the separation of Buru Regency from Central Maluku, and of Southeast Maluku West Regency from Southeast Maluku. Three additional regencies were created on 18 December 2003 (under Law 40/2003) - East Seram Regency and West Seram Regency, both from parts of Central Maluku, and Aru Islands Regency from part of Southeast Maluku (which was thus left to comprise just the
Kai Islands
The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such ...
. On 17 July 2007 the City of Tual was separated from Southeast Maluku, and on 24 June 2008 two further regencies were created - South Buru Regency from part of Buru, and Southwest Maluku Regency from part of Southeast Maluku West. The residual part of Southeast Maluku West Regency was subsequently renamed the Tanimbar Islands Regency on 23 January 2019.
Thus the province of Maluku is currently divided into nine regencies (''kabupaten'') and the two cities (''kota'') of
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
and
Tual
Tual (Indonesian: ''Kota Tual'') is a city in Maluku (province), Maluku Province of Indonesia located within the Kei Islands. In 2007, it was separated from the rest of the Kei Islands, which form the Southeast Maluku Regency to form City status in ...
, which form the tenth and eleventh regency-level administrative divisions. The regencies and cities, with their administrative capitals, are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and at the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates for mid 2021. The toble also includes the numbers of districts (''kecamata'') and villages (urban ''kelurahan'' and rural ''desa'') in each city or regency.
Demographics
Ethnicity
Maluku are dominated by the
Moluccans
Moluccans are the Austronesian-speaking and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas), Indonesia. The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provi ...
, which are part of the
Melanesian
Melanesian is the adjectival form of Melanesia. It may refer to:
* Melanesians
* Melanesian mythology
* Melanesian languages In linguistics, Melanesian is an obsolete term referring to the Austronesian languages of Melanesia: that is, the Oceani ...
ethnic race related to the people in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
as well as other countries such as
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
, and several island nations scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
There is a lot of strong evidence that refers to Maluku having traditional ties with the Pacific island nations, such as language, folk songs, food, as well as equipment for household appliances and typical musical instruments, for example:
Ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
(which is also found in the
Hawaiian cultural tradition).
They generally have dark skin, curly hair, large and strong bones, and a more athletic body profile compared to other groups in Indonesia, because they are a group of islanders where sea activities such as sailing and swimming are the main activities for men.
Since ancient times, many of them already had mixed blood with other ethnic groups, namely with Europeans (generally the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
) and Spain, then the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
were very common considering this area had been controlled by foreign nations for 2,300 years and gave birth to new descendants, which is no longer a pure Melanesian race but still inherits and lives with the Melanesian-Alifuru style.
Because of this mixture of culture and race with
Europeans and
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
, Maluku is the only Indonesian territory that is classified as an area that has the largest
Mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
population other than
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...
. Many Moluccans still retained foreign surnames from foreign countries such as the Netherlands (Van Afflen, Van Room, De Wanna, De Kock, Kniesmeijer, Gaspersz, Ramschie, Payer, Ziljstra, Van der Weden, etc.), Portugal (Da Costa, De Fretes, Que, Carliano, De Souza, De Carvalho, Pareira, Courbois, Frandescolli, etc.), Spain (Oliviera, Diaz, De Jesus, Silvera, Rodriguez, Montefalcon, Mendoza, De Lopez, etc.) and Arabic directly from
Hadramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...
(Al-Kaff, Al Chatib, Bachmid, Bakhwereez, Bahasoan, Al-Qadri, Alaydrus, Assegaff, etc.)
Today, the people of Maluku are not only found in Indonesia but are spread in various countries in the world. Most of those who migrate abroad are due to various reasons, of which the most classic was the large-scale movement of the Moluccans to Europe in the 1950s and settled there until now. Another reason is to get a better, more knowledgeable life, marrying and marrying other nations, who later settle down and have generations of new Moluccas in the other hemisphere. These Maluku expatriates can be found in quite large communities and are concentrated in several countries such as the Netherlands (which is considered the second homeland by the Moluccas other than the land of Maluku itself),
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, and Australia. The Maluku community in other regions of Indonesia can be found in
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
,
Palembang,
Bandung
Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...
,
Greater Jakarta
The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta– Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regenc ...
,
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
,
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
,
East Java
East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
,
Makassar
Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
,
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
,
Manado
Manado () is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distribu ...
,
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan (Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3. ...
,
Sorong
Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's ...
, and
Jayapura.
Language
The languages used in Maluku, especially in Ambon, has been influenced by foreign languages, often by explorers who have visited and even occupied and colonized Maluku in the past. The nations were the Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Dutch.
The
Ambonese language
Ambonese Malay or simply Ambonese is a Malay-based creole language spoken on Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands of Eastern Indonesia. It was first brought by traders from Western Indonesia, then developed when the Dutch Empire colonised the Ma ...
, as the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
in Maluku, has been understood by almost all residents of Maluku Province and generally, little by little, is understood by other East Indonesian people such as those in
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...
,
Manado
Manado () is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distribu ...
,
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
, etc. because
Ambonese is related to other languages in the provinces of
North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...
,
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
,
Papua,
West Papua, and
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...
.
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
, as the official language and language of unity in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), is used in official and formal public activities such as in government offices and in schools and in places such as museums, airports and ports.
Maluku is the largest archipelago in all of Indonesia, although this area is 90% water and only 10% land. Maluku Province and
North Maluku
North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the sout ...
Province together compose the
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...
. The large number of islands that are separated by long distances from each other also results in the increasingly diverse languages used in this province. Some of the most common languages spoken in Maluku - apart from Ambonese and Indonesian - are:
*
Wemale language
Wemale is an Austronesian language spoken on western Seram Island in Indonesia. It is classified by Collins (1983) as a member of the Central Maluku subgroup.
The language is divided into northern and southern dialects, having variants known as ...
, used by residents of Piru, Seruawan, Kamarian, and Rumberu in the
West Seram Regency
West Seram Regency is a regency of Maluku, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the island of Seram, but includes various islands lying to the west of Seram -- Manipa, Kelang, Boano, as well as the smaller islets of Babi, Pua, Masowoi and Marsegu. ...
.
*
Alune language
Alune is an Austronesian language of west Seram in the Maluku archipelago of Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of ov ...
is used in three water streams, namely Tala, Mala and Malewa in the
West Seram Regency
West Seram Regency is a regency of Maluku, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the island of Seram, but includes various islands lying to the west of Seram -- Manipa, Kelang, Boano, as well as the smaller islets of Babi, Pua, Masowoi and Marsegu. ...
area.
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Nuaulu language
Nuaulu is a language indigenous to the island of Seram Island in Indonesia, and it is spoken by the Nuaulu people. The language is split into two dialects, a northern and a southern dialect, between which there a communication barrier. The diale ...
, spoken by the Nuaulu tribe in the south of Seram Island, is between Elpaputi Bay and Teluk Teluti.
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Atiahu language, used by three ethnic groups, which also included the Nuaulu family, namely Atiahu, Werinama, and Batuasa in the
East Seram Regency
East Seram Regency ( id, Kabupaten Seram Bagian Timur) is a regency of Maluku, Indonesia. It is mainly located on the island of Seram, but also includes smaller islands to the southeast comprising the Gorom and Watubela archipelagoes. The regen ...
.
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Seti language is spoken by the Seti people, in North Seram and East Teluti, and also as a trade language in Eastern Seram.
*
Tarangan language, spoken in the Aru Island region.
Religion
Most of the people of Maluku adheres to either
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, (52.85% of the population) or
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
(46.3% of the population); the latter are divided between followers of (
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
(39.39%) and
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(6.87%). There are also adherents of
folk religion
In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. The spread of Islam was carried out by the Sultanates of Iha, Saulau, Hitu, and Hatuhaha and
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders who visited Maluku. While the spread of Christianity was carried out by missionaries from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, Spain and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Places of worship in Maluku Province in 2013 were recorded as follows:
* 2,345 churches
* 2,000 mosques
* 10 temples
* 5 Vihara
The
Protestant Church of Maluku
The Protestant Church of Maluku is a Reformed church in Indonesia. It is known locally as: Gereja Protestan Maluku or simply GPM. It was formed on September 6, 1935 when it was separated from the Protestant Church in Indonesia.
The Protestant C ...
(Gereja Protestan Maluku or simply GPM) is the largest synod organization and church organization in Maluku, which has church congregations in almost the entire Sarane country throughout Maluku.
Economy
Macroeconomically, Maluku's economic conditions tend to improve every year. One indicator is, among others, an increase in the value of GDP. In 2003 Maluku's
GRDP
Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...
reached 3.7 trillion rupiah and then increased to 4.05 trillion in 2004. Economic growth in 2004 reached 4.05 percent and increased to 5.06 percent in 2005.
The geographical condition of Maluku Province when viewed from the strategic side of business investment opportunities can be predicted that natural resources in the fisheries and marine sector can be used as prima donna businesses in Maluku, in addition to other sectors such as livestock and plantation subsector, trade sector and tourism sector as well as the service sector entirely has a high selling value and business potential.
Currently the economy of Maluku is dominated by agriculture, forestry and fisheries that contribute to about 25.00 percent of the total.
[Anonymous.2015.Maluku in Figures.Indonesia : Statistic Office Maluku Province]
Government service sector, defence and compulsory Social Security contribute to roughly 21 percent. The business field and retail trade; cars and motorcycles repair & services at 12.59 percent; construction sector contributes 7.41 percent.
Maluku's economy in 2014 has shown positive improvement as compared to 2013. The GDP growth rate in 2014 reached 6.70 percent, while in 2013 amounted to 5.26 percent. The highest economic growth is in the field of electricity and gas supply business which grew by 31.11 percent. The business service is another sector that experienced positive growth in 2014.
Other economic activities also recorded positive growth, including mining and quarrying (21.47 percent); education services business field (9.52 percent); transportation and warehousing business sector (8.77 percent); processing industry (8.42 percent); information and communication (7.62 per cent); financial services business (7.61 percent); construction (7.31 percent); real estate (7.10 percent).
In 2017, a Japanese oil company,
Inpex
INPEX (Invention and New Product Exposition) is America's largest invention trade show, held since 1985 and organized by the invention promotion firm InventHelp. The annual show is held each June in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
INPEX provides a fo ...
Corporation acquired Abadi Field, a crude oil and natural gas field located in the Arafura Sea, near
Tanimbar
The Tanimbar Islands, also called ''Timur Laut'', are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The largest and most central of the islands is Yamdena; others include Selaru to the southwest of Yamdena, Larat and F ...
Islands. In 2017 the company to start the Pre FEED phase and hold a joint workshop with SKK Migas to prepare an offshore development plan for project of Block Masela.
Culture
Music
The famous musical instruments are Tifa (a type of drum) and
Totobuang, played together in an ensemble called a
Tifa totobuang
A ''tifa totobuang'' is a music ensemble from the Maluku Islands, related to the '' kulintang'' orchestra. It consists of a set of a double row of gong chimes known as the ''totobuang'' (similar to set of '' bonang gong chimes'') and a set of ' ...
. Each musical instrument from Tifa to Totobuang has different functions and supports each other to give birth to a very distinctive color of music. But this music is dominated by Tifa musical instruments. It consists of Tifa, Tifa Jekir, Tifa Dasar, Tifa Potong, Tifa Jekir Potong and Tifa Bas, plus a large Gong and Toto Buang which is a series of small gongs placed on a table with several holes as a buffer. There is also a wind instrument namely Bia Skin (Shellfish).
In the culture of Maluku, there are also stringed instruments namely
Ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
and that can also be found in the
Hawaiian culture
The culture of the Native Hawaiians encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms practiced by the original residents of the Hawaiian islands, including their knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits. H ...
in the United States. This can be seen when Maluku music from the past until now still has a characteristic in which there is the use of Hawaiian musical instruments both in pop songs and in accompanying traditional dances such as Katreji.
Other musical instruments is the Sawat. Sawat is a blend of Maluku culture and Middle Eastern culture. In a few centuries ago, the Arabs came to spread Islam in Maluku, then there was a mixture of cultures including music. It is evident in several Sawat musical instruments, such as
Tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
s and
Flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s that characterize Arabian music instruments.
Outside of the variety of musical instruments, Moluccan people are famous for being good at singing. Since long ago they have often sung in accompanying traditional dances. There are many famous Moluccan singers in both Indonesia and the Netherlands, such as
Broery Pesulima,
Daniel Sahuleka
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
,
Ruth Sahanaya,
Eric Papilaya
Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Get a Life – Get Alive" written by Greg Usek and Austin Howard. The song was performed by Eric Papilaya. In October 2006, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundf ...
,
Glen Fredly, etc.
Dance
The famous dance from the Moluccas is the
Cakalele
''Cakalele'' dance (pronounced "cha-ka-leh-leh", spelled ''tjakalele'' by the Dutch) is a war dance from North and Central Maluku in Indonesia. Hybrid versions also exist among the natives of Sulawesi, Timor, and the Tanimbar Islands. The danc ...
which describes the might of the Moluccas. This dance is usually performed by adult men while holding
Parang
Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something which ...
and
Salawaku
A Salawaku (in the Tidore and Pagu languages), is a traditional shield originating from the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It is also known as Ma Dadatoko, Salwake, Saluwaku or Salawako in Galela, Salewaku-mu in Loloda, Hawau-mu in Madole, Emuli in ...
(Shield).
There are also other dances like Saureka-Reka that use the sago palm fronds. The dances performed by six women really need accuracy and speed while accompanied by a very interesting musical rhythm.
The dance which is a depiction of youth association is Katreji. Katreji dance is played in pairs between women and men with varied energetic and interesting movements. This dance is almost the same as European dances in general because Katreji is also an acculturation of European (Portuguese and Dutch) culture with Maluku culture. This is more evident in every signal in changing floor patterns and movements which still use Portuguese and Dutch as a process of bilingualism. This dance is accompanied by a violin instrument,
bamboo flute
The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently kn ...
,
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
, karakas, guitar, tifa, and bass guitar with a more prominent western (European) musical pattern. This dance is still performed by the people of Maluku until now.
In addition to Katreji, the famous European influence is Polonaise, which is usually carried out by Moluccans at the time of marriage by each party member in pairs, forming a circle formation and carrying out light movements that can be followed by everyone, both young and old.
In addition, there is also a Crazy Bamboo Dance. Crazy bamboo dance is a special dance that is magical, originating from Suli Village. The uniqueness of this dance is that the dancers are burdened by bamboo which can move uncontrollably and this dance can be followed by anyone.
Tourism
Some of the famous tourist attractions in Maluku include:
*
Manusela National Park
Manusela National Park is located on Seram island, in the Maluku archipelago of Indonesia. It is made up of coastal forest, swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest ecosystem types. Mount Binaiya at 3,027 meters, is the highest of the park's ...
* Pasir Panjang Beach
* Natsepa Beach, Ambon
* City Gate, Ambon
See also
*
Districts of Maluku
The Provinces of Indonesia, province of Maluku (province), Maluku in Indonesia is divided into nine Regencies of Indonesia, regencies (''kabupaten'') and two independent cities (''kota''); these in turn are divided administratively into 118 Distr ...
*
List of islands of Indonesia
The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands.
History ...
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List of Maluku Governors
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List of rivers of Maluku (province)
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Baileo
References
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Provinces of Indonesia
.