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Moluccans
Ethnic group from the Moluccas Islands

The Moluccans are Melanesian-Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands, historically known as the Spice Islands, now divided into the Indonesian provinces of Maluku and North Maluku. Most Moluccans practice Christianity, with Islam as the second major religion, sharing cultural bonds through Adat traditions and music. The capital, Ambon, was named a City of Music by UNESCO. While most Moluccans live in the islands and nearby regions like Papua and North Sulawesi, a community of over 50,000 exists in the Netherlands as part of the Moluccan diaspora.

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History

For other uses, see Moluccan diaspora.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Maluku Islands are Melanesian in origin and have been aboriginal to the Maluku archipelago dating back at least 30.000 BCE. However, due to later Austronesian migration waves from around 5000 - 2000 BCE, genetic studies detail the presence of varying levels of Austronesian mitochondrial DNA in populations on different islands in Maluku. Whereas paternal genetic structure remains predominantly Melanesian in its make-up within the region.8 This explains a primarily maternal Austronesian influence on the Melanesian population that influenced the development of typical socio-linguistic elements and other areas within the Moluccan culture, making Malayo-Polynesian languages dominating in most of the region, with the exception of some areas where languages belonging to the West Papuan language group are still prevalent.9 Later added to this were several Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabian and English influences, due to colonization, intermarriage with foreign traders during the Silk-route era and Middle Ages, and even with European soldiers during the World Wars. A small number of German descendants was added to Moluccan population, especially in Ambon, along with arrival of Protestant Missionaries since 16th century.10

After the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during World War II, the Netherlands wanted to restore the old colonial situation. The indigenous Indonesians were against it. However, led by rebels and Sukarno, a struggle for independence broke out between 1945 and 1950.11 The reconstituted Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) was commissioned by the Dutch government to maintain order and to disarm the rebels. Moluccan professional soldiers formed an important part of this army.12 The Moluccan community was thus regarded by the Dutch as allies and vice versa. The government of the Netherlands had promised the Moluccans that they would get their own free state and independence back in return for assisting the Netherlands. After international efforts could not support the Netherlands to maintain its colony, the Dutch government chose to no longer keep its promise to the Moluccans of an independent state.13 The Moluccans, who were seen by the Indonesians as collaborators with the Dutch, were given two options, to demobilize the military force and "temporarily" go to the Netherlands before returning to an independent Maluku, or assimilate and take on the Indonesian nationality. Most Moluccans who served in the command of KNIL would reside temporarily in the Netherlands.14 The Moluccans were instead discharged from military service shortly after arriving, and housed in repurposed WWII concentration camps in the Netherlands, including the former Westerbork transit camp. Where they were isolated from Dutch society and held under extremely poor living conditions for years.15

The Dutch Moluccans had repeatedly drawn the attention of the Dutch government to their claim for a free Republic of South Maluku, which the Dutch government had promised them. However, the situation began to escalate as RMS's struggle gained notoriety in the 1970s when demonstrations and violence propelled it into the Dutch public eye.16 Finally, after still being ignored and denied a hearing by the government, one of the methods to gain attention on the matter was through the hijackings of 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis in De Punt, Wijster, where hostages were taken, and the members were killed.17

Language

The Moluccans speak over a hundred different languages, with a majority of them belonging to the Central Malayo-Polynesian language family. An important exception is the North Moluccan islands which include the island of Halmahera and its surrounding islands, where the majority of the population speak West Papuan languages (North Halmahera branch), possibly brought through historical migration from the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea.1819 Another exception are the Malay-based creoles such as the Ambonese language (also known as Ambonese Malay), spoken mainly on Ambon and the nearby Ceram; and North Moluccan Malay used on the islands of Ternate, Tidore,20 Halmahera and Sula Islands in North Maluku.21 Moluccans living in the Netherlands mostly speak Ambonese and Buru, as well as the national and official Dutch language.

Religion

For other uses, see Moluccan Evangelical Church.

The Moluccans in northern Maluku (present province of North Maluku) are mainly Muslims.22 While central and southern Maluku (present province of Maluku) have about equal numbers of Muslim and Christians.23

The religion most often adhered to by the Moluccans in the Netherlands is Protestant Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam.

There are significant number of native Hindu (Tanimbar Kei people) followers in Kei Islands, a predominantly Catholic region, despite the Maluku province's overall Christian population being mainly Protestant. This is because, according to oral traditions, their ancestors came from Bal (Bali) during the Majapahit era. They still practice local customary law called Larvul Ngabal [id] ('red blood and spear from Bali').24

Notable people

Further information: List of Moluccan people

See also

  • Indonesia portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moluccans.

References

  1. "INVASION OF AMBON". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). 23 October 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 15 June 2021. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42686630 ↩

  2. van Engelenhoven, Gerlov (1 July 2021). "From Indigenous Customary Law to Diasporic Cultural Heritage: Reappropriations of Adat Throughout the History of Moluccan Postcolonial Migration". International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique. 34 (3): 695–721. doi:10.1007/s11196-020-09781-y. hdl:1887/3134516. ISSN 1572-8722. S2CID 224961575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-020-09781-y ↩

  3. "Ambon". UNESCO Cities of Music. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021. https://citiesofmusic.net/city/ambon/ ↩

  4. "Admin Templates - Dashboard Templates" (in Indonesian). https://satudata.kemenag.go.id/dataset/detail/jumlah-penduduk-menurut-agama ↩

  5. Beets et al., Demografische ontwikkeling van de Molukse bevolkingsgroep in Nederland (in Dutch). ↩

  6. Beets et al., Demografische ontwikkeling van de Molukse bevolkingsgroep in Nederland (in Dutch). ↩

  7. Handoko, Wuri (2024). "Asal-Usul Masyarakat Maluku, Budaya dan Persebarannya". Kapata Arkeologi (in Indonesian). Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 30 August 2024. https://kapata-arkeologi.kemdikbud.go.id/kapata/article/download/66/62/ ↩

  8. Friedlaender, Jonathan S.; Friedlaender, Françoise R.; Hodgson, Jason A.; Stoltz, Matthew; Koki, George; Horvat, Gisele; Zhadanov, Sergey; Schurr, Theodore G.; Merriwether, D. Andrew (28 February 2007). "Melanesian mtDNA Complexity". PLOS ONE. 2 (2): e248. Bibcode:2007PLoSO...2..248F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000248. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 1803017. PMID 17327912. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1803017 ↩

  9. Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 5–7. ISBN 0-300-10518-5. 0-300-10518-5 ↩

  10. Robert Benjamin (2009). Unknown Creatures. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-06-152-6095-2. 978-06-152-6095-2 ↩

  11. Hulsbosch, Marianne (2014). Pointy Shoes and Pith Helmets: Dress and Identity Construction in Ambon from 1850 to 1942. BRILL. p. 31. ISBN 978-90-042-6081-8. 978-90-042-6081-8 ↩

  12. Hulsbosch, Marianne (2014). Pointy Shoes and Pith Helmets: Dress and Identity Construction in Ambon from 1850 to 1942. BRILL. p. 31. ISBN 978-90-042-6081-8. 978-90-042-6081-8 ↩

  13. Buitelaar, Marjo; Zock, Hetty, eds. (2013). Religious Voices in Self-Narratives: Making Sense of Life in Times of Transition. Walter de Gruyter. p. 194. ISBN 978-16-145-1170-0 – via Google Books. 978-16-145-1170-0 ↩

  14. Hulsbosch, Marianne (2014). Pointy Shoes and Pith Helmets: Dress and Identity Construction in Ambon from 1850 to 1942. BRILL. p. 31. ISBN 978-90-042-6081-8. 978-90-042-6081-8 ↩

  15. Josh Varlin (11 May 2015). "The Westerbork transit camp and the destruction of Dutch Jewry". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 20 July 2018. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/11/west-m11.html ↩

  16. Kirsten E. Schulze (2002). "Laskar Jihad and The Conflict in Ambon". The Brown Journal of World Affairs. 9 (1): 57–69. JSTOR 24590272. Retrieved 13 February 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24590272 ↩

  17. "Dutch State Sued Over 'Excessive Force' Against 1977 Moluccan Train Hijackers". Jakarta Globe. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018. http://jakartaglobe.id/news/dutch-state-sued-excessive-force-1977-moluccan-train-hijackers/ ↩

  18. Bellwood, Peter, ed. (2019), The Spice Islands in Prehistory: Archaeology in the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia, ANU Press, pp. 216–220, ISBN 978-1-76046-291-8 978-1-76046-291-8 ↩

  19. Foley, William (2000), "The Languages of New Guinea", Annual Review of Anthropology, 29: 357–404, doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.357, JSTOR 223425 /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  20. Louis Boumans, ed. (1998). The Syntax of Codeswitching: Analysing Moroccan Arabic/Dutch Conversations. Tilburg University Press. p. 95. ISBN 90-361-9998-0. 90-361-9998-0 ↩

  21. William Frawley, ed. (2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press. pp. 351–352. ISBN 01-951-3977-1. 01-951-3977-1 ↩

  22. Huibert van Beek, ed. (2006). A Handbook of Churches and Councils: Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships. World Council of Churches. p. 266. ISBN 28-254-1480-8. 28-254-1480-8 ↩

  23. Noelle Higgins (2009). Regulating the Use of Force in Wars of National Liberation: The Need for a New Regime: A Study of the South Moluccas and Aceh. BRILL. p. 175. ISBN 978-90-474-2634-9. 978-90-474-2634-9 ↩

  24. Riyani, Utami Evi (21 July 2017). "TERUNGKAP! Sejarah Hubungan Bali dan Kepulauan Kei yang Tak Banyak Diketahui Orang : Okezone Travel". Okezone (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022. https://travel.okezone.com/read/2017/07/21/406/1741197/terungkap-sejarah-hubungan-bali-dan-kepulauan-kei-yang-tak-banyak-diketahui-orang ↩