Maluku

 by Red

3. Jailolo

20th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

With Ternate and Tidore checked off the list, we decided to attempt a day trip to the mainland of Halmahera. Halmahera is the K-shaped island, largest and most undeveloped in North Maluku. There are many points of disembarkation at the mainland, and we decided to head for Jailolo, since that was the location of one of the old kingdoms (before it got swallowed up by Ternate sultanate).

Other landing points were at Sidangoli, and Sofifi. The latter was selected to be the capital of the North Maluku province back in 2007, with much of the government offices shifting there from Ternate. The selection of backwater town Sofifi as the capital was expectedly met with furore by the Ternate locals.

The boat from Ternate to Jailolo leaves when full. It leaves from the sirpet jetty in Dufa-Dufa, just north of Kota Ternate. The trip takes around an hour and costs 50k Rp. There is a ferry that leaves Ternate for Sidangoli at 2pm and departs Sidangoli the next day at 11am. I have no idea how big a city Sidangoli is (It’s the transit point to get to Tobelo in the northern end of Halmahera), but here’s what we found out about Jailolo.

The waters off Jailolo, West Halmahera

Jailolo is not much more than a large cluster of houses. There is one main street with sundry, electronics and clothes ships that had surprisingly mall-like exteriors. And that was all there was. There were no old Sultan’s keratons, no old colonial forts. Nothing. And it was drizzling. Beyond Jailolo, the road goes inland into the Jurassic Park like untouched green interior.

But we made it to Halmahera. After the obligatory location check-in on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, it was time to look for “tempat wisata” or tourist locations. I asked for Marimbati, the beach 12km away recommended by LP. But the road was hilly and wasn’t good, and the converted ojeks that seat two passengers in front, will not be able to climb. The normal ojeks probably could manage the route, but I wasn’t going to pillion ride for 1 hour in the rain, along a hilly, non- tarmacked road. The helpful Jailolo local offered Sahu beaches instead, but it was a case of trying to find objects of interest when there were none. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, I thought to myself, but it gives an excuse to head towards somewhere. However, there really was nothing much to see there, we did a loop around town. There were a couple of monuments, a pair of men and women statues, overlooking the road. In the end, we ended up in a Warnet, the Internet kiosk. So if anyone asks us what we did in Halmahera, the truthful reply would be that we surfed the Internet.

On the boat back, we did come across a lady (probably from Jakarta) wearing a “I dived in West Halmahera” T-shirt, so if anyone reading this knows exactly where the diving is, let me know.

Back in Ternate, just down the street from the jetty was Benteng Tolukko, a 1512 CE Portuguese fort. We paid 5k Rp each and stood at the top of the restored fort. We could see Halmahera from left to right on the entire horizon, Tidore and Maitara on the foreground. Down below were the houses of Ternate, and behind us was majestic Mount Gamalama.

Back in town, we had dinner at the roadside warungs again à this Makassarese dishes: Sop Saudara, Sop Konrod, and Coto Makassar were really lip-smackingly good. Oh and on the way back, we passed by the grand mosque again. It was already dark, but there was a crowd headed for the mosque. It seemed the entire city was dressed in white bajus and covered in religious garb. There were even traffic police controlling the crowd. I asked one guy and he told me that a religious holy man from Jakarta was in town and he was leading some recitations (zikir). It was apparently an event that took place monthly. It struck me how Muslim Ternate was, probably more than some parts of Indonesia. Compare that to what I will experience tomorrow, in the Minahasan city of Manado.

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 by Red

2. Tidore

19th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

We woke up late. 10am, and neither of us had bothered with the alarm. We took brunch, a hearty Soup Saudara and Soup Konrod, before making our way by ojek (7k Rp) to the Bastiong ferry terminal. The ferry terminal is actually where the big ferry leaves from. For more frequent departures, ask for the sirpet harbour, from which 16 seater speedboats leave (8k rp).

Ah Tidore. If we thought Ternate was laid back, Tidore is even more so. We disembarked at Rum, and took the bemo (9k Rp) to the main town, Soasio, on the other side of the island. I thought that the bemo terminal would be in the middle of the town centre, like it was back in Ternate (where it was at the market). But here, the terminal sits in a quiet uninviting area.

The view from atop the Spanish fort ruins, Benteng Tohula

We flagged one of those funky carrier ojeks (they look like mini-tractors with scoops), and made for the Spanish fort, Benteng Tohula. While Ternate made pacts with the Dutch, the Tidore folks allied with the Spanish. Located on top of a cliff, the undergrowth covered ruins from the 17th century is now someone’s farm. The owner cultivates chilli plants along the fort walls!

From there, we went down to the Tidore Sultan’s keraton, almost an exact replica (but with blue roof) of the Ternate palace. Beyond that, and up the hill was another Spanish fort. Tidore’s peak was nearer and thus more grand-looking from this fort. Or perhaps it was because the peak was not covered in mist.

Then it was the 40 minute bemo ride back to the jetty. We had durian, authentic meaty Maluku durians at the docks, before making our way back to Ternate.

Dinner was in Kota Ternate, at an open air collection of warungs, near the Swering promenade. Tomorrow, we will attempt to get to Halmahera, the huge K-shaped land mass that overlooks both Ternate and Tidore.

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 by Red

1. Ternate

18th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

The group of islands known as the Maluku islands are scattered all over the Indonesian waters, isolated from the busy megacities of Indonesia. To the west is Sulawesi, to the east is Papua. To the north are the Philippines and south is Timor and further south, Darwin, Australia. To get to any of these places requires at least 200km of air travel, or days of sea travel. That is how remote the Maluku islands are. In 2007, the Indonesian government divided Maluku into two provinces: Maluku and North Maluku.

We flew in from Jakarta to Ternate on Sriwijaya Air, with a stopover at Makassar. Ternate, the biggest city in North Maluku, has a population slightly over 100k. Back in the 17th century, it was one of the original kingdoms in this region, lording over the clove trade, the single source of the spice in the world. Expectedly, the European powers of the time made their way to Ternate, made treaties with the locals to trade valuable spices. It got a bit messy with the Portuguese, then Dutch and Spanish, coming either to exert their authority or to ally themselves with Ternate’s local rivals, the kingdom of Tidore. You can read my other post for the history of the Spice Islands.

The view from Floridas restaurant in Ternate.

Today, Kota Ternate is a bustling city, despite being so isolated. A network of domestic flights means it is well connected. There is hardly a tourist scene here though. I’m writing this on Day 2, and so far, we are the only two foreigners. It’s a modern place; there is even a mall with pre-paid wifi. Actually, it is typical of most Indonesian towns I have been to, unspectacular, practical with very good food. The only exception is that I see some faces that look more Melanesian.

The flight in. Did you know that Sriwijaya has a Singapore office? They fly to Jakarta from Singapore. The online booking was pretty smooth, with an sms security code confirmation. A couple of days before the flight, they even called to confirm the flight. Food on the Boeing 737 plane was simple but tasty, and there is a free 20kg baggage allowance. Flight stewardesses were hot.

From the airport, it was an overpriced (as we were to find out) 50k Rupiah (Rp) to town. We put up at the Sasqavia Guest House, 175k Rp a night for a double room. With cable and aircon, it is pretty alright. We took a look at some homestays, aka “penginapan” but these were all full, taken up by travelling Indonesians doing sales.

From there, we headed out to explore the town. Ternate is a volcanic island, circular in shape, with Gunung Gamalama towering over the entire island. It looks like one of those volcanic islands you see in movies, majestically rising out of the sea. As a result, the entire city is built along the eastern coast of Ternate.

First was a visit to the big mosque by the coast, the Al-Munawwah mosque. The unusual thing about this mosque is that two of the four minarets sit on stone pillars that rise straight out of the sea! Interestingly too, if you look closely at the repetitive pattern on the dome, it spells out “Allah” and “Muhammad” in Arabic language. This is typical of Muslim architecture, exhibiting repetitive abstract geometrical patterns.

Next we popped by the Dutch fort built in 1607, Benteng Oranye. Located right in the city centre, the walls of the fort still stand, but whatever remains inside are long gone, replaced by residential homes. On the bastion there are still cannons, and when we were there, many, many goats.

Further north, the Sultan’s Keraton is the home of the current Ternate Sultan. This is the same Sultan whose family ruled over the spice trade many centuries ago. It is a fancy two storied raised home, with a museum inside showcasing the treasures of the royal family. We wanted to enter (and perhaps have tea with him) but the Sultan wasn’t home. Neither was the caretaker. Someone mentioned that after the resident volcano blew its top two weeks ago (leading to mass evacuation and a two day shutdown of the airport), the Sultan wouldn’t be at the keraton. I wouldn’t be either, seeing that the palace is right at the foot of the volcano. While there, we also dropped by the Sultan Masjid, a small but interesting mosque.

Bemos, the 8 seater minivans that plough Indonesia’s roads, go around the island. We took one to Rua, where the kolam, or pond, which leads to where locals visit the black sand beach. The stroll was brief, passing by nutmegs laid out to dry by the roadside. This was one of the spices which famously led to so many political shenanigans in the past. Now no one even thinks twice about these spices.

Back at Kota Ternate, the new Jatiland mall, Ternate’s biggest and only mall, was where we had time to cool down. The sun burns through you here, and I made a mental reminder to put on sunblock tomorrow. XH had a 10 SGD cup of kopi luwak, the prime coffee made out of coffee beans excreted by civet cats, while I gawked at the rideable toy train that chugged through the ground level of the mall.

We decided to have dinner at Floridas, a fancy restaurant recommended by LP. It’s quite out of the way. And the food was expensive by Indonesian standards (50k Rp for mains), but the view was worth it. Overlooking the dining area was Kiematubu, the peak of Pulau Tidore, with the smaller Pulau Maitara in the foreground, which made for spectacular sunset views. The exact scene could be seen from the back of the Indonesian 1000 Rupiah note, a fact proudly remarked by the owners. Try the ginger almond (kenari) tea, it is the specialty, but it takes some getting used to.

For a city with barely any tourist sights, we did manage to do quite a few things. Tomorrow, we will hop on a boat to Tidore, the island to the south, and also Ternate’s perennial rival.

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 by Red

The Fascinating History of the Spice Islands

Deep in the Indonesian archipelago lie the Maluku Islands. Here, where the mountains are pretty, the waters sublime, and the people friendly, this group of islands little visited by tourists is where I would be spending this upcoming X’mas festive period.

A Long Long Time Ago

The islands of Maluku are collectively known as the Spice Islands. Why? To answer this, we have to go back 500 years. Back then, the islands were ruled by various sultanates that grew powerful through trade of the spices uniquely found on the island: nutmegs and cloves. The sultanates of Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo had been trading spices with the Chinese and later the Islamic World (hence the conversion of locals to Islam and the formation of the Muslim Sultanates) pre-16th century. The Arabs of that time, essentially the Mamluks (1250-1517), the Ottomans (1281-1924) and the Safavids of Persia, transported these valuable spices and traded from the Mediterranean coast to Venice. The Republic of Venice hence enjoyed a monopoly of the spice trade, and grew powerful from trade with the rest of the European powers.

Of course, the Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and British wanted a piece of the pie, and sent explorers to find the source of the spices, in the hopes of setting up their own trade route. This was the Renaissance Period, and individual empires had the financial clout to send expeditions around Africa and through to Asia.

Spice Wars

No, that‘s not the title of the latest Facebook game. It’s the almost comical yet tragic occupations of the Maluku by the colonial powers of the time. The Portuguese were the first to find Maluku, after colonizing Malacca in 1511. They made their way to Ternate, Bacan and Tidore, and set up trading posts and forts. They didn’t make themselves too popular, proselytizing Christianity to the locals, helping themselves to the spice production, beheading one of the Sultans, and in general making total pricks of themselves. The ramifications were inevitable. The local populace kicked them out of their main base on Ternate, and the Portuguese ended up  setting shop further south in Ambon.

The Spanish were already in Maluku, coming in a few years after the Portuguese. Despite a treaty (Treaty of Zaragoza, 1525) between the two stating that the Spanish will not lay claim to Maluku, they continued to shadily trade spices with the locals.

The Portuguese in the meantime, weren’t doing very well in Ambon either. Successive revolts from pissed-off locals on Ambon eventually ended up in a full out assault by the Ternate sultan and his allies from the Sultanate of Mataram, Java.  Already licking their wounds, they encountered the Dutch. The belligerent Dutch came along, besieged Ambon and kicked out the Portuguese from the region for good in 1605.

Pick Your Allies Carefully

And where were the locals in all this? The Sultanates of Ternate and Tidore were inconsequentially bickering with each other, oblivious to the European powers desire to completely take over the spice trade. With the Portuguese gone, the Spanish filled the power vacuum and occupied both Tidore and Ternate. As with their predecessors, the Spanish weren’t too popular either, controlling the cloves production. Ternate, eager to put one up against their southern rivals, allied themselves (stupidly) with the Dutch, and proceeded to square off against Tidore, who (even more stupidly) were allied with the Spanish.

The stronger power won, and to the victor, the spoils. The Dutch monopoly of the Maluku spice trade grew with the establishment in 1602 of the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), more commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, to take advantage of the spice trade. Meanwhile the influence of the Spanish and Tidore waned. The Spanish removed themselves from Maluku in 1663.

A Massacre at the Bandas

The Dutch weren’t saints either. They were now the superpowers of the region, and proceeded to flex their muscles. They quelled any uprising around the islands violently. They restricted the production of cloves to only Ambon Island in order to protect their trade. Of course the locals’ livelihood was affected and their revolt was again spectacularly put down. One of the Moluccan heroes was the Pattimura, Thomas Matulessy, a local from Ambon who led a failed revolt in 1817. He was hanged by the Dutch. His last words were: ‘I wish you all a pleasant stay’.

The epitome was probably in 1621, when the Dutch forcibly occupied the Banda Islands and massacred its entire population (15000!). They resettled the island with imported slaves from Java and elsewhere in Indonesia. Before this, the interaction was treaty based, but after the Banda massacre, it was full out occupation by the Dutch.

The British were also in the middle of these shenanigans. Latecomers to the show, they set up their forts in the islands of Rum and Ai. They were paying higher prices for the spices, which seriously undermined the Dutch. So, the Dutch did what they do best, invading Ai in 1615 and causing a full scale rivalry with British revenge attacks. In 1623, the Dutch murdered a bunch of British merchants on Ambon, which probably made things worse. Things only got better after the British seceded control of the Bandas to the Dutch in 1667.

You Would Trade Manhattan for One of These Islands???!!

Amazingly, the Dutch wanted to complete their Pokemon collection (gotta catch them all!) of all the Banda Islands. The last island of Run was traded with the British, after the second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665–1667, where under the Treaty of Breda (1667), the Dutch got Run in exchange for what is now Manhattan Island in New York. Seriously. They MUST have regretted that decision ever since.

Anyway, the sly Brits smuggled out the spices to their colonies in Sri Lanka, Singapore and replanted them there, thereby ending the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade. The Maluku islands fell to obscurity, and the sultanates were abolished by the Dutch.

Modern History

After the Japanese occupation, and when Indonesia gained independence, the Maluku people were surprisingly pro-Dutch. These nederlandophiles had what I would think is a case of Stockholm Syndrome. They set up a secessionist movement in 1950, creating the unrecognized Republic of South Maluku. Matters weren’t helped by the silly idea to transmigrate Indonesians from elsewhere to Maluku. There was actually an incident in 2000 where local Muslims and Christian Ambonese fought each other. Today, things are OK, the sultanates reinstated, and the Maluku Islands are peaceful little visited historically important sites. (And a great dive paradise too, I might add).

The impact of the colonial powers’ rule was many: Portuguese words such as bendera (flag), meja (table), sabun (soap) exist in the Indonesian language. Locals in Ambon have Portuguese sounding surnames like de Souza and de Fretes. And many immigrants formerly from Ambon and the rest of the Maluku islands have been assimilated and are living in Holland.

To read my post about the other Spice Islands, of the Zanzibar Archipelago, click here: http://www.thefuriouspanda.com/2010/02/25/87-%E2%80%93-zanzibar-the-places-just-gets-more-and-more-exotic/

References:
Carboni, Stefano. Venice and the Islamic world, 828-1797: Yale University Press, 2007
Timeline : Molucca Islands http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/seasia/tlmoluccas.html
Various Wikipedia entries

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