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Moluccans

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Moluccans
Molukker, Moluccas, Orang Maluku
Moluccans men performing the traditional Cakalele dance, carrying the parang salawaku (Maluku sword and shield).
Total population
2.5 million
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia: 2,203,415 (2010 census)[1]
(Maluku, North Maluku, Jakarta, East Java, North Sulawesi, West Papua)
Netherlands: ~70,000 (2018 census)[2]
Languages
Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages, North Halmahera languages, North Moluccan Malay, Ambonese Malay, Indonesian, Dutch
Religion
Majority Sunni Islam Minority Christianity (Protestantism (Moluccan Evangelical Church and Protestant Church of Maluku) and Roman Catholicism), Hinduism, Animism[3]
Related ethnic groups
Other Austronesians, Melanesians, Papuan people, Malagasy peoples

Moluccans are the Melanesian-Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas). The region was historically known as the Spice Islands,[4][5] and today consists of two Indonesian provinces of Maluku and North Maluku. As such, the term Moluccans is used as a blanket term for the various ethnic and linguistic groups native to the islands.

Most Moluccans practice Islam, followed by Christianity. Despite religious differences, all groups share strong cultural bonds and a sense of common identity, such as through Adat.[6] Music is also a binding factor, playing an important role in the cultural identity, and the Moluccan capital city of Ambon was awarded the official status of City of Music by UNESCO in 2019.[7][3]

A small population of Moluccans (~50.000+[8]) live in the Netherlands. This group mainly consists of the descendants of soldiers in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), who were originally brought to the Netherlands temporarily, and would have been sent back to their own independent republic, had the Dutch government not given up control of Indonesia. They and others in the world make up the Moluccan diaspora. The remainder consists of Moluccans serving in the Dutch navy and their descendants, as well as some who came to the Netherlands from western New Guinea after it too was handed over to Indonesia.[8]

However, the vast majority of Moluccans still live in the Moluccas and the other surrounding areas and regions, such as Papua, East and West Timor, North Sulawesi and further west.[9]

History

[edit]
For other uses, see Moluccan diaspora.
Sukarno dancing with Moluccan people, 1958.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Maluku Islands are Melanesian in origin and have been living in the Maluku archipelago since at least 30,000 BCE. However, due to later Austronesian migration waves from around 5,000 - 2,000 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

After the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during World War II, the Netherlands wished to restore the previous colonial system; however, indigenous Indonesians opposed this. A struggle for independence led by Sukarno and his rebel forces broke out in 1945 and lasted until 1950.[13] 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.[13] The Moluccan community was thus regarded by the Dutch as allies and vice versa. The government of the Netherlands had promised 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 Moluccans of an independent state.[14] 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 to assimilate and take on the Indonesian nationality. Most Moluccans who served in the command of KNIL chose the first option, which was to reside temporarily in the Netherlands.[13] Upon arriving in the Netherlands, Moluccans were discharged from military service, and housed in repurposed WWII concentration camps, including in the former Westerbork transit camp, where they were isolated from Dutch society and held under extremely poor living conditions for years.[15]

Maluku Islands

The Dutch Moluccan community repeatedly petitioned the Dutch government to uphold its commitment to supporting their claim for an independent Republic of South Maluku, as previously promised. Their struggle for independence began to gain traction in the in the 1970s, when demonstrations and violence propelled them into the 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

[edit]

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.[18][19] 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

[edit]
For other uses, see Moluccan Evangelical Church.

Most Moluccans in northern Maluku (present-day province of North Maluku) are Muslim.[22] Central and southern Maluku (present-day province of Maluku) have approximately equal numbers of Muslims and Christians.[23]

There is significant number of native Hindus (Tanimbar Kei people) living in the Kei Islands, which is a predominantly Catholic region. This is because, according to oral traditions, their ancestors came from Bal (Bali) during the Majapahit era. Additionally, they practice local customary law called Larvul Ngabal [id] (transl. "red blood and spear from Bali").[24]

The most common religion amongst Moluccans in the Netherlands is Protestantism, followed by Islam.[25]

Notable people

[edit]
Further information: List of Moluccan people

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Kewarganegaraan, Suku Bangsa, Agama, Dan Bahasa Sehari-Hari Penduduk Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Badan Pusat Statistik. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Molukkers in Nederland" (in Dutch). CBS.
  3. ^ a b "Admin Templates - Dashboard Templates" (in Indonesian).
  4. ^ "INVASION OF AMBON". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). 23 October 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  5. ^ Escribano-Páez, Jose M. (21 December 2020). "Diplomatic Gifts, Tributes and Frontier Violence: Circulation of Contentious Presents in the Moluccas (1575–1606)". Diplomatica. 2 (2): 248–269. doi:10.1163/25891774-02020004. ISSN 2589-1766.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Ambon". UNESCO Cities of Music. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b Beets et al., Demografische ontwikkeling van de Molukse bevolkingsgroep in Nederland (in Dutch).
  9. ^ Handoko, Wuri (2024). "Asal-Usul Masyarakat Maluku, Budaya dan Persebarannya". Kapata Arkeologi (in Indonesian). Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 5–7. ISBN 0-300-10518-5.
  12. ^ Robert Benjamin (2009). Unknown Creatures. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-06-152-6095-2.
  13. ^ a b c 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Josh Varlin (11 May 2015). "The Westerbork transit camp and the destruction of Dutch Jewry". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  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.
  17. ^ "Dutch State Sued Over 'Excessive Force' Against 1977 Moluccan Train Hijackers". Jakarta Globe. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  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
  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
  20. ^ Louis Boumans, ed. (1998). The Syntax of Codeswitching: Analysing Moroccan Arabic/Dutch Conversations. Tilburg University Press. p. 95. ISBN 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.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  25. ^ "Moluccans in the Netherlands". Minority Rights Group. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
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