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Maluku
Ilwaki, the island’s only town and descent harbor, is on the island’s south face, away from the main shipping routes. The interior tribes – formerly warlike headhunters and very hostile to outsiders- still follow may of their traditional ways.
The ‘Kecamatan’ of Leti-Moa-Lakor, names for the three principal islands, has lost much of its population in the last half century. Before the second world war, these three islands were home to 15,000 people : today there are only 1,200. Many of them have left to become workers elsewhere in the archipelago.
The Babar group includes six islands, of which Babar is the largest. Culturally, the Babars, and the Semati and Leti groups to the west, have been under the leadership of Luang Island. The people of these islands were fiercely warlike, and hostile to any Europeans who ventures into the area. An English trading vessel was boarded by the local here and its crew butchered to the last man. And even during the 19th century, the Dutch has little control over what one contemporary report calls Babar’s “unruly natives”.
Headhunting was an important activity well into the 20th century. And even today, families still preserve ancestral skulls in sacred caves, hoarding them as a source of strength. The ‘Kecamatan’ seat is Tepa on the north coast of Babar Island, where most of the group’s 6,000 people live.
Maluku Islands, in the west also known as the Spice Island or the Maliccan Islands, lie east of Bali. They consist of around thousand islands, strung like beautiful gemstones across a vast expanse of crystal blue, tropical sea : they are beyond and far from the usual tourist circuit.
These islands are extraordinarily beautiful and varied, some volcanic and dressed in luxuriant vegetation, others coralline and lined with swaying palms. They boast some of the finest beaches in the world. And like most of the beaten paths of Indonesia, the Maluccas provides an endless series of unusual attractions for those with a true spirit of wander lust and adventure.
On the old spice islands – Ternate and Tidore, Ambon and the Banda’s – clove and nutmeg groves recall the days when these islands were a magnet that drew explorers from the west. Centuries old Portuguese and Dutch forts, sometime crumbling and overrun with vegetation, stand as reminders the European trade monopolies were established here by force.
In the interior of some of the larger islands, like Burn, Halmahera, Seram and the Sulas, people remain relatively untouched by the modern world. And on several of the islands, including Ambon, the region’s capital, there are occasional physical and cultural remains of ancient megalithic civilizations – stone altars and thrones – and odd style costumes, dances and rituals.
Island life in the Maluccas has a rhythm of its own. Coconuts are processed into copra and sago palm trunks into flour using traditional methods. Cloves and nutmeg are still expensively cutivated. Tie-dyed thread is woven into colorful cloth, Indonesia’s famous ikat, and trips of fiber are worked into baskets and sleeping mats. Hunters seek wild pigs and deer, their quarry from outrigger canoes. Divers plunge for pearls, mother of pearl oysters and trepang – a sea cucumber that is dried or smoked and made by the Chinese into delicious soup. Craft men fashion tortoise shell fans, mother of pearl montages and ship models made entirely of cloves.
The architecture of Ambon is undistinguished. Unfortunately, the charming historical buildings were all destroyed in a massive bombing raid on August 28 and 29, 1944, as the Allies knocked out the Japanese base. The architecture today is post was practical, mainly of concrete block construction.
Ambon main street is Jalan Raya Pattimura, which is lined with banks, hotels, the telephone and telegraph office and the Catholic bishop’s office. The shopping strip is on Jalan A.Y. Patty, where there are stores selling mother of pearl, trinkets made of cloves and fabrics.
The Siwalime Museum, on the slope of Gunung Nona above the city, displays fine, ancestral wood carvings from southern Maluku, mock-ups of traditional Moluccan lifestyles, displays of natural history, fine porcelain, weapons and more. The museum is well worth a visit and may of the captions in the exhibits are in English.
For experienced scuba divers, the best spot in the Ambon area are off Tanjung Setan (Satan’s cape) on the north west coast of the Hitu Peninsula, around the tiny islands of Ela, Hatalala, and Lain, or Tanjung Sial, the far southern tip of Seram. The best months for diving are September through April, although the weather is usually clear, February is known for some uncomfortably high seas.
There is a diving club in Ambon, but their outing usually only occur on weekends to two easy places – Latuhalat and Seri, both on the southern coast of the Lei Timor. One of the most popular beaches on the island is Natsepa, at Baguala, a short 17 km from Ambon Town, just past Paso on Hitu’s southeast coast.
Pombo Island, a few kilometers off the northeast tip of Hitu, offers excellent snorkeling in beautiful shallow reefs. Fish dynamiting has ruined much of the deeper coral life beyond 10 meters, but the shallow seas around Pombo are still lively and colorful, with lot of tropical fish and varied coral formations. The center of the island is a shallow, clear water pool, just 1 – 3 meters deep.
The conservation department maintains four huts on Pombo and brings in the fresh water from the mainland. With prior permission from their office – near the Australian Cemetery, just outside of Ambon Town – visitor can stay overnight here.
Honimua, 38 km from Ambon town, on the northwestern tip of Hitu, is the closest point on the mainland from which to catch a speed boat to Pombo.
If you decide to embark from Honimua, stop at the beautiful Liang Beach. Just before reaching Honimua, the main road forks, and to the left, the long, lonely beach gazes out toward Seram. Some 20 km from there loom Seram’s mountain, grand and gray, rising out of the sea.
The three small islands to the east of Ambon, together with the latter island, make up the lease group, formerly called the Uliassers. The smaller eastern islands – Haruku, Saparua and the tiny Nusa Laut – offer a more relaxed glimpse of island life than busy Ambon, and the reefs of their shores have not suffered the intense fish bombing and dredging that have destroyed those on Ambon.
The Ambonese refer to their large, mountainous island neighbor Seram with a mixture of respect as Nusa Ina or Mother Island.
Seram covers 18,410 sq kilometers, abound half the size of the Netherlands, stretches 340 kilometers east to west. The tallest peak in the chain of high mountains is Gunung Binaija, which reaches 3,055 meters, densely wooded, mountainous but not volcanic. Seram’s eastern point is less mountainous and is dominated by spreading low lands and swamps. There are three great bays evenly spaced along the island’s south coast, and one in the middle of the north shore.
The administrative capital of the Kabupaten Maluku Tengah (Central Moluccan District) is at Mashohi on Seram’s south coast, on the shore of Elpaputih Bay. Since there is no great population concentration anywhere in the area, Mashohi, with some 40,000 inhabitants, was probably chosen for its central location and proximity to Ambon.
Just west of Seram, Burn is a large island known as the source of Kayu Putih or eucalyptus oil and for being the site of an Indonesian internment camp.
The Sula archipelago, three islands further west in the central Moluccas, are a historical trade stop and the site of an ancient sultanate. None of these islands is set up for tourism, even to the modest extent of other Moluccan islands.
Early 17th century Bandanese society was ruled, as it has been for a long time, by a group of leading citizens, the orang kaya, literally “rich men”. Each of these was the political head of a district. The Dutch were able to lure some of the orang kaya into signing a treaty that granted Holland the monopoly on nutmeg and mace purchases.
Toward the end of the 18th century, the VOC could see ominous clouds on the horizon. French ships had smuggled out some nutmeg seedlings, which were planted on lie de France (now Mauritius). The VOC was in the red, headed towards bankruptcy. In 1790s, the great monopoly finally fell, mortally wounded by graft, smuggling, bad management and world events. When it sank, the company was 12 million guilders in debt.
The strongly antifascist Indonesia leaders Hatta (later the first vice president of the Republic of Indonesia) and Sjahrir (later the first prime minister) lived six years in Banda. Only in 1942, when the Japanese were getting uncomfortably close, did the Dutch return the exiles to Java with the hope that they could help turn the Japanese against the Japanese.
The Bandas, lush with tropical vegetation, is a cluster of nine hilly, volcanic islands. There of the islands form a lovely lagoon and shelter one of Indonesia’s finest harbors. Gunung Api’s majestic slopes rice in a perfect cone to the volcano’s crater topped by a thin stream of smoke.
The only concentration of houses visible from air is on Banda Neira, the central island of the group and the only one with enough flat space to allow a small town. Here there are government offices, stores, the wharf and most of the archipelago’s 14,000 population.
The breathtaking scenery continues underwater. The reefs are a kaleidoscope of life, with endlessly varied coral formations and bright tropical fish. While the lagoon provides safe diving for snorkelers or novices with tanks, experienced scuba enthusiasts will be amazed in the deeper waters. The steep walls sprout hard, soft and leathery corals, spoges and a plethora of other colorful and contorted sessile organisms. Reef residents cling to the sides, and huge pelagic species lurk nearby in the open water. The water is like crystal.
If you are in Banda in April or October, kora kora canoes compete in races on the quiet stretch of water between Neira and Gunung Api. The muscled boatman, many of whom paddle all day long as fisherman, send the big boats flying over the water at almost unbelievable speeds.
Your hotel can arrange for you to see the spectacular local dance, called the cakalele, formerly performed to whip up enthusiasm forward. The dance includes some ferry graceful flowing movements along with lots of shouting and stomping.
Another attractions of Banda, neglected by most visitors out of ignorance, are her mosques. Visit the gleaming Hatta-Syahrir Mosque, but be sure to follow Muslim etiquette and remove your foot ware before entering.
Fully restored Fort Belgica (1611) dominates Neira, with Fort Nassau (1609) gracefully crumbling below. On Lontar, Fort Holland and Fort Concordia both offer excellent panoramic views. On Ai Island, Fort Revingil (Revenge) still has several cannon and a few locals have taken over one comer for homes. The Rumah Buaya Museum on Neira is full of antiques and has some historical paintings. Mohammad Hatta’s and Sultan Sjahrir’s former home in exile has been also converted to a museum.
Just riding a boat around the Bandas to take in the scenery is a wonderful experience. On Neira, you can rent a small dugout in which to try your paddling (and balancing) skills. Although the locals make it look effortless, it is harder than it looks. But then again, the Bandanese has been at it along time.
Banda is one of the world’s very best diving spots. Things have not changed much since, in mid 19th century, Wallace remarked “living coral and even the minutest objects are plainly seen on the volcanic sand at a depth of six or seven fathoms”. Snorkeling is excellent just off Neira – at Malole Beach, Tanah Rata or just in front of the former VOC Palace. Other nearby snorkeling and shallow scuba diving spots includes Pasir Besar and Kolam Penyu off Gunung Api, Belakang Selamon, and near beach plunges at Wali and Belakang off Lontar Island. Experienced divers will bring their own regulators, but all the necessary equipment can be rented on Banda.
Great deep dives await those with experience off Sjahrir Island, but the very best are near Hatta, Air or Rum Islands, with dramatic drop off and lots of big fish. The hotel provides boats to reach these places as well as a plentiful supply of tanks. In April and May and again in October and November, you can arrange for the 100 km trip to Manuk Island, famous for its birds, good diving and pristine beaches.
The verdant sides of Gunung Api (fire mountain) rice 650 meters above the Banda sea, normally dormant, is still quite alive. Between 1910 and 1977.33 tremors of 5.0 or greater of the Richter scale have been recorded, 20 of them in one year, 1975. In May 1988, Gunung Api’s top blew with great violence, killing three and forcing a mass evacuation of the 2,000 people living on its slopes. Today, its slumber seems peaceful again and many people are back.
If you take a local guide, climbing Api is relatively easy. Start early in the morning, and bring a hat and plenty of water. It the weather is clear, the panorama is absolutely stunning.
When the Dutch arrived soon after, they allied themselves with the Sultan of Tidore and forced out the Portuguese and the Spanish.
Today, Ternate (and the other islands in the region) are once again major clove producers – the North Moluccas has some 3,000 hectares under cultivation – but most of the world’s supply of the spice comes from two small islands off Tanzania. Today the region’s economy is more diversified, and the products include lumber, fish, cacao, copra and pearls as well as cloves.
The commercial center of the Island of Ternate Town, which spread out along the south east coast facing an excellent deepwater harbor. Ternate Town has grown over the past 350 years around Fort Oranje, built by the Dutch in 1607 when they set about enforcing a monopoly on the sultan’s cloves.
Ternate is the second largest city in the Moluccan region, with about 50,000 inhabitants (the island is home to maybe 80,000).
Island was introduced into the region in the 1400s, and today, the vast majority of Ternateans are Muslim. The Ternate Sultanate, before the Dutch stripped the sultan of his political power, was one of the most powerful in eastern Indonesia.
Just south of town, past the main docks, a run down, graffiti covered fort crumbles by the seaside. Begun but never completed by the Portuguese in 1510, the fort is now called Kayu Merah (red wood). The view here across the narrow strait of Tidore and Maitaro islands is beautiful, and at sun set becomes truly magnificent. The fort is about a kilometer south of the Pelabuhan Bastiong boat landing, just before the village of Kayu Merah begins.
The town mosque, an old, multi tiered wooden structure, stands next to the main road to the airport in the northern part of town. By following Muslim etiquette (shoes off, modest clothing), you can visit this large, airy mosque.
Just north of the mosque is the sultan’s residence, the kedaton, perched on a small hill next to the road. The original structure is said to date back to the 13th century, but the kedaton looks like a country mansion-the current structure was designed by an English architect in the late 19th century. It is not the same place Sir Francis Drake described in 1579 as full of all the exotic comforts of the east, including several well stocked harems.
Today the kedaton serves as an interesting, if thinly stocked, museum of weapons, porcelain and royal knickknacks. A painting shows former sultan Jabar, wearing the royal crown, and his father, Sultan haji Mohammad Usman.
Rounding north Ternate, cone shapped Hiri Islands appears less than a kilometer away offshore. A few kilometers further, near Takome Village, a short side road leads inland to lovely Danau Tolire Besar (big lake Tolire). Emerald waters fill this steep sided, vegetation encircled crater lake. There is a path around a part of the high rim. Public transportation on the main road here is rare and Tolire can be conveniently reached only by chartered bemo. Tolire kecil (little Tolire), a smaller lake, lies between the main road and the nearby beach. Its smooth surface is a perfect mirror reflecting the Gamalama volcano.
Only visitors in good physical condition with a full day to spare should consider climbing Gamalama volcano. The effort could be rewarded with incredible panoramas and a smoldering. Sulfurous crater – or it could be ruined by bad weather.
To visit Tidore, you can take a boat ride from Ternate’s Bastiong dock to run on northwest Tidore in no more than 15 minutes. The boat runs every half hour or so. At rum there is a crumbling fortress and a colorful Sunday Market.
The pace of life on Tidore is relaxed, even in the capital city. Seaside villages surround Tidore, and most of the 35,000 Tidorese are concentrated on the southern coast. A paved road encompasses most of Tidore’s 45 kilometer circumference, but this crucial link gets progressively worse the further one gets from Soa Siu. Plans call for paving the remaining seven odd kilometers.
The scenery from the perimeter road is superb : Kiematubu volcano, Ternate’s Gamalama and the islands of Mare, Moti and Makian. At one point, in the distance, you can see the lava flow from crater to see where a 1988 explosion nearly split Makian Island into two. Many of the people living on Makian fled fled to Moti Island.
Of the sultan’s palace, located above Soa Siu, only some masonry and a stairway remain. At one end of a field that used to be the front lawn of the palace (now used for football games) lie the graves of Nuku, Tidore’s best known sultan, and Jainal Abidin Syah, the last of the line.
North to south, Halmahera measures 330 kilometers and at its widest point, 160 kilometers across, for a total land area of just under 18,000 sq km. Although Seram is slightly larger, Halmahera spreads over a much greater area and is a more imposing presence.
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Jailolo was just a bit north of Ternate on Halmahera’s west coast, perhaps the most important political power on Halmahera. Although historical evidence is faint, Jailolo must have had a measure of power and autonomy during the early 16th century, because records show that a combined force of ternateans and Portuguese overwhelmed the sultanate in 1551.
Today Halmahera is well connected to the rest of the Moluccan region. The island receives daily flights from Manado in Sulawesi and Ambon, although they are sometime cancelled and are often overbooked. From Ternate, daily ferries and several secheduled flights each week carry passengers to various points in North Halmahera.
In 1798, the Sultan of Tidore, who had just kicked out the Dutch from his island, proclaimed a noble from Makian as the sultan of Jailolo. This re-established the sultanate, which lasted only until 1832, when the Dutch forced the aristocracy into exile.
Halmahera’s northern peninsula, the largest of the island’s fingers, remains actively volcanic. On its eastern coast, dotted with offshore islands, is a paragon of tropical island beauty : bright, wide beaches, profusions of coconut trees, and clear waters alive with coral and fish.
The coast’s dominant ethnic groups are the people of Tobelo. Originally seafarers, perhaps even more like pirates, the Tobelorese originally settled such strategic colonies as Morotai, north of Halmahera, and Bacan, west of Halmahera’s southern tip. The Papuan languages spoken in north Halmahera are related to those spoken in western New Guinea, but the people are more Malay in appearance.
There are reports of a small Tobelo clan called ‘Moro’ considered to be of Portuguese descent. The Moro clan is locally considered to be the most refined. Marriages take place only within the clan. During a recent wedding of a couple who broke this regulation, the angry ancestral spirits spoiled the feast by throwing sand on all the food that was so carefully prepared for the guests. On the island of Seram there is another Moro clan, to which all sorts of supernatural powers are attributed.
Seven long strips were laid down on Morotai, and the hundreds of planes stationed there destroyed the Japanese fortifications in the Philippines. It was striking from Morotai that MacArthur finally make good on his promise : “ I shall return”.
The island’s largest town, Daruba, is in the island, Daruba, is in the island’s south, near the coast. Some 6,000 people live in Daruba. Electricity was scheduled for mid 1988. there is no movie house yet. A few Indonesian-Chinese families, each maintaining a well stocked stores on the main street, are the kingpins of the local economy. They warehouse copra, cacao and cloves gathered by local families for export.
Until early 1988, there were plenty of war relics lying around Morotai – airplanes, tanks, and trucks. These anachronistic machines rusted to the color of clay and choked by thick jungle vegetation, were plaintive reminders of the peculiar horrors of world warn.
Hundreds of burned jeeps and trucks are heaped in a pit one kilometer from Totodoku Village.
Today’s visitor to Morotai can enjoy the water without worrying about how to invade the Philippines. The offshore islands are excellent locations for snorkeling, swimming and scuba diving. White sand beaches line most of these islands. The east shore facing Daruba have coral approaches with the usual variety of tropical reef fish. The western shores drop off steeply. This is where the bigger fish tend to congregate. Tuna, sharks, large rays and other pelagic and deep water species can all be sighted in a 45 minutes scuba session at 20-23 meter depth.
Pulau Sumsum, about a quarter hour from Daruba, should be included in a visitor’s island hopping plan. Several atolls just south of Sumsum offer protected dives with a variety of corals and drops of 20-25 meters to the sandy bottom. A world war II ship is said to have sunk in this area.
Things did begin to change bit by bit on Morotai in the mid 1980s when Merpati began its Saturday flight from Ternate to the US built airfield and a ferry service, averaging three times a week, started operating a Ternate- Daruba-Tobelo run. But foreign visitors are few and far between. In the 1970s, some Japanese veterans dropped by, and some Dutchmen invaded Morotai on a ‘nostalgia’ tour. Other than these local informants can remember only two lipidopterists that visited the island to collect butterflies.
Knowledgeable travelers have remarked that the Kei’s fine grained : snow white beaches surpass any in the world. One of the finest beaches is at Ohoideertutu, 40 km from Tual and can be reached by public transportation. Ngur Bloat of Pasaiung Panjang Beach, 17 km from Langgur on Kei Kecil’s northwest coast, sweeps around a majestic, curved bay, fringed with coconuts the road here is terrible however, and taxi drivers are seldom willing to risk their springs by making the trip.
If you have spare time, hop on one of the frequent boats to Kei Besar. There are only footpaths around this long, mountainous island and no tourist facilities. Bring your passport and some knowledge on Indonesian, because you might have to explain to police what you are doing so far off the beaten path.
Although many traditions are maintained by the 40,000 residents of Kei Besar, the Tanimbar Kei Islanders are the most traditional in the archipelago. Called Tanebar-Evav by its inhabitants, this island lies off southwestern Kei Kecil. Although the language spoken here is similar to that used on Kei, many of the old ritual words are still used in various ceremonies.
The Aru archipelago spreads over 6,325 sq km. The main island is cut by five small channels into six islands – Kola, Wokam, Kobroor, Maikoor, Koba and Trangan. The island group’s administrative center, Dobo village on the little island of Wamar, maintains communications with Ambon and Tual in the Keis through on occasional passenger / cargo boat.
Some 41,000 people live in the Arus today, double the figure at the end of World War II. Almost three fourths are Protestants, the rest are Catholic and Muslims. There are also some very strong traces of animism and traditional religion.
The Papuan inhabitants of the Arus live by subsistence farming supplemented by fishing and hunting of wild pigs and introduced deer. The Aru islanders are dispersed in 122 villages. The largest city is Dobo, which is about 3,500 people, mostly non Papuan-Chinese, Makassarese and Bugis. An airfield is partially constructed, but a lck of funds has kept it from being finished.
Sago is the most important staple food. Some obtain cash income by collecting live butterfly larvae. Although five languages are spoken in the Arus, all the natives share a common mythology.
These islands are extraordinarily beautiful and varied, some volcanic and dressed in luxuriant vegetation, others coralline and lined with swaying palms. They boast some of the finest beaches in the world. And like most of the beaten paths of Indonesia, the Maluccas provides an endless series of unusual attractions for those with a true spirit of wander lust and adventure.
On the old spice islands – Ternate and Tidore, Ambon and the Banda’s – clove and nutmeg groves recall the days when these islands were a magnet that drew explorers from the west. Centuries old Portuguese and Dutch forts, sometime crumbling and overrun with vegetation, stand as reminders the European trade monopolies were established here by force.
In the interior of some of the larger islands, like Burn, Halmahera, Seram and the Sulas, people remain relatively untouched by the modern world. And on several of the islands, including Ambon, the region’s capital, there are occasional physical and cultural remains of ancient megalithic civilizations – stone altars and thrones – and odd style costumes, dances and rituals.
Island life in the Maluccas has a rhythm of its own. Coconuts are processed into copra and sago palm trunks into flour using traditional methods. Cloves and nutmeg are still expensively cutivated. Tie-dyed thread is woven into colorful cloth, Indonesia’s famous ikat, and trips of fiber are worked into baskets and sleeping mats. Hunters seek wild pigs and deer, their quarry from outrigger canoes. Divers plunge for pearls, mother of pearl oysters and trepang – a sea cucumber that is dried or smoked and made by the Chinese into delicious soup. Craft men fashion tortoise shell fans, mother of pearl montages and ship models made entirely of cloves.
- Ambon
The architecture of Ambon is undistinguished. Unfortunately, the charming historical buildings were all destroyed in a massive bombing raid on August 28 and 29, 1944, as the Allies knocked out the Japanese base. The architecture today is post was practical, mainly of concrete block construction.
Ambon main street is Jalan Raya Pattimura, which is lined with banks, hotels, the telephone and telegraph office and the Catholic bishop’s office. The shopping strip is on Jalan A.Y. Patty, where there are stores selling mother of pearl, trinkets made of cloves and fabrics.
The Siwalime Museum, on the slope of Gunung Nona above the city, displays fine, ancestral wood carvings from southern Maluku, mock-ups of traditional Moluccan lifestyles, displays of natural history, fine porcelain, weapons and more. The museum is well worth a visit and may of the captions in the exhibits are in English.
For experienced scuba divers, the best spot in the Ambon area are off Tanjung Setan (Satan’s cape) on the north west coast of the Hitu Peninsula, around the tiny islands of Ela, Hatalala, and Lain, or Tanjung Sial, the far southern tip of Seram. The best months for diving are September through April, although the weather is usually clear, February is known for some uncomfortably high seas.
There is a diving club in Ambon, but their outing usually only occur on weekends to two easy places – Latuhalat and Seri, both on the southern coast of the Lei Timor. One of the most popular beaches on the island is Natsepa, at Baguala, a short 17 km from Ambon Town, just past Paso on Hitu’s southeast coast.
Pombo Island, a few kilometers off the northeast tip of Hitu, offers excellent snorkeling in beautiful shallow reefs. Fish dynamiting has ruined much of the deeper coral life beyond 10 meters, but the shallow seas around Pombo are still lively and colorful, with lot of tropical fish and varied coral formations. The center of the island is a shallow, clear water pool, just 1 – 3 meters deep.
The conservation department maintains four huts on Pombo and brings in the fresh water from the mainland. With prior permission from their office – near the Australian Cemetery, just outside of Ambon Town – visitor can stay overnight here.
Honimua, 38 km from Ambon town, on the northwestern tip of Hitu, is the closest point on the mainland from which to catch a speed boat to Pombo.
If you decide to embark from Honimua, stop at the beautiful Liang Beach. Just before reaching Honimua, the main road forks, and to the left, the long, lonely beach gazes out toward Seram. Some 20 km from there loom Seram’s mountain, grand and gray, rising out of the sea.
The three small islands to the east of Ambon, together with the latter island, make up the lease group, formerly called the Uliassers. The smaller eastern islands – Haruku, Saparua and the tiny Nusa Laut – offer a more relaxed glimpse of island life than busy Ambon, and the reefs of their shores have not suffered the intense fish bombing and dredging that have destroyed those on Ambon.
- Seram
The Ambonese refer to their large, mountainous island neighbor Seram with a mixture of respect as Nusa Ina or Mother Island.Seram covers 18,410 sq kilometers, abound half the size of the Netherlands, stretches 340 kilometers east to west. The tallest peak in the chain of high mountains is Gunung Binaija, which reaches 3,055 meters, densely wooded, mountainous but not volcanic. Seram’s eastern point is less mountainous and is dominated by spreading low lands and swamps. There are three great bays evenly spaced along the island’s south coast, and one in the middle of the north shore.
The administrative capital of the Kabupaten Maluku Tengah (Central Moluccan District) is at Mashohi on Seram’s south coast, on the shore of Elpaputih Bay. Since there is no great population concentration anywhere in the area, Mashohi, with some 40,000 inhabitants, was probably chosen for its central location and proximity to Ambon.
Just west of Seram, Burn is a large island known as the source of Kayu Putih or eucalyptus oil and for being the site of an Indonesian internment camp.
The Sula archipelago, three islands further west in the central Moluccas, are a historical trade stop and the site of an ancient sultanate. None of these islands is set up for tourism, even to the modest extent of other Moluccan islands.
- Banda
Early 17th century Bandanese society was ruled, as it has been for a long time, by a group of leading citizens, the orang kaya, literally “rich men”. Each of these was the political head of a district. The Dutch were able to lure some of the orang kaya into signing a treaty that granted Holland the monopoly on nutmeg and mace purchases.
Toward the end of the 18th century, the VOC could see ominous clouds on the horizon. French ships had smuggled out some nutmeg seedlings, which were planted on lie de France (now Mauritius). The VOC was in the red, headed towards bankruptcy. In 1790s, the great monopoly finally fell, mortally wounded by graft, smuggling, bad management and world events. When it sank, the company was 12 million guilders in debt.
The strongly antifascist Indonesia leaders Hatta (later the first vice president of the Republic of Indonesia) and Sjahrir (later the first prime minister) lived six years in Banda. Only in 1942, when the Japanese were getting uncomfortably close, did the Dutch return the exiles to Java with the hope that they could help turn the Japanese against the Japanese.
The Bandas, lush with tropical vegetation, is a cluster of nine hilly, volcanic islands. There of the islands form a lovely lagoon and shelter one of Indonesia’s finest harbors. Gunung Api’s majestic slopes rice in a perfect cone to the volcano’s crater topped by a thin stream of smoke.
The only concentration of houses visible from air is on Banda Neira, the central island of the group and the only one with enough flat space to allow a small town. Here there are government offices, stores, the wharf and most of the archipelago’s 14,000 population.
The breathtaking scenery continues underwater. The reefs are a kaleidoscope of life, with endlessly varied coral formations and bright tropical fish. While the lagoon provides safe diving for snorkelers or novices with tanks, experienced scuba enthusiasts will be amazed in the deeper waters. The steep walls sprout hard, soft and leathery corals, spoges and a plethora of other colorful and contorted sessile organisms. Reef residents cling to the sides, and huge pelagic species lurk nearby in the open water. The water is like crystal.
If you are in Banda in April or October, kora kora canoes compete in races on the quiet stretch of water between Neira and Gunung Api. The muscled boatman, many of whom paddle all day long as fisherman, send the big boats flying over the water at almost unbelievable speeds.
Your hotel can arrange for you to see the spectacular local dance, called the cakalele, formerly performed to whip up enthusiasm forward. The dance includes some ferry graceful flowing movements along with lots of shouting and stomping.
Another attractions of Banda, neglected by most visitors out of ignorance, are her mosques. Visit the gleaming Hatta-Syahrir Mosque, but be sure to follow Muslim etiquette and remove your foot ware before entering.
Fully restored Fort Belgica (1611) dominates Neira, with Fort Nassau (1609) gracefully crumbling below. On Lontar, Fort Holland and Fort Concordia both offer excellent panoramic views. On Ai Island, Fort Revingil (Revenge) still has several cannon and a few locals have taken over one comer for homes. The Rumah Buaya Museum on Neira is full of antiques and has some historical paintings. Mohammad Hatta’s and Sultan Sjahrir’s former home in exile has been also converted to a museum.
Just riding a boat around the Bandas to take in the scenery is a wonderful experience. On Neira, you can rent a small dugout in which to try your paddling (and balancing) skills. Although the locals make it look effortless, it is harder than it looks. But then again, the Bandanese has been at it along time.
Banda is one of the world’s very best diving spots. Things have not changed much since, in mid 19th century, Wallace remarked “living coral and even the minutest objects are plainly seen on the volcanic sand at a depth of six or seven fathoms”. Snorkeling is excellent just off Neira – at Malole Beach, Tanah Rata or just in front of the former VOC Palace. Other nearby snorkeling and shallow scuba diving spots includes Pasir Besar and Kolam Penyu off Gunung Api, Belakang Selamon, and near beach plunges at Wali and Belakang off Lontar Island. Experienced divers will bring their own regulators, but all the necessary equipment can be rented on Banda.
Great deep dives await those with experience off Sjahrir Island, but the very best are near Hatta, Air or Rum Islands, with dramatic drop off and lots of big fish. The hotel provides boats to reach these places as well as a plentiful supply of tanks. In April and May and again in October and November, you can arrange for the 100 km trip to Manuk Island, famous for its birds, good diving and pristine beaches.
The verdant sides of Gunung Api (fire mountain) rice 650 meters above the Banda sea, normally dormant, is still quite alive. Between 1910 and 1977.33 tremors of 5.0 or greater of the Richter scale have been recorded, 20 of them in one year, 1975. In May 1988, Gunung Api’s top blew with great violence, killing three and forcing a mass evacuation of the 2,000 people living on its slopes. Today, its slumber seems peaceful again and many people are back.
If you take a local guide, climbing Api is relatively easy. Start early in the morning, and bring a hat and plenty of water. It the weather is clear, the panorama is absolutely stunning.
- Ternate Islands
When the Dutch arrived soon after, they allied themselves with the Sultan of Tidore and forced out the Portuguese and the Spanish.
Today, Ternate (and the other islands in the region) are once again major clove producers – the North Moluccas has some 3,000 hectares under cultivation – but most of the world’s supply of the spice comes from two small islands off Tanzania. Today the region’s economy is more diversified, and the products include lumber, fish, cacao, copra and pearls as well as cloves.
The commercial center of the Island of Ternate Town, which spread out along the south east coast facing an excellent deepwater harbor. Ternate Town has grown over the past 350 years around Fort Oranje, built by the Dutch in 1607 when they set about enforcing a monopoly on the sultan’s cloves.
Ternate is the second largest city in the Moluccan region, with about 50,000 inhabitants (the island is home to maybe 80,000).
Island was introduced into the region in the 1400s, and today, the vast majority of Ternateans are Muslim. The Ternate Sultanate, before the Dutch stripped the sultan of his political power, was one of the most powerful in eastern Indonesia.
Just south of town, past the main docks, a run down, graffiti covered fort crumbles by the seaside. Begun but never completed by the Portuguese in 1510, the fort is now called Kayu Merah (red wood). The view here across the narrow strait of Tidore and Maitaro islands is beautiful, and at sun set becomes truly magnificent. The fort is about a kilometer south of the Pelabuhan Bastiong boat landing, just before the village of Kayu Merah begins.
The town mosque, an old, multi tiered wooden structure, stands next to the main road to the airport in the northern part of town. By following Muslim etiquette (shoes off, modest clothing), you can visit this large, airy mosque.
Just north of the mosque is the sultan’s residence, the kedaton, perched on a small hill next to the road. The original structure is said to date back to the 13th century, but the kedaton looks like a country mansion-the current structure was designed by an English architect in the late 19th century. It is not the same place Sir Francis Drake described in 1579 as full of all the exotic comforts of the east, including several well stocked harems.
Today the kedaton serves as an interesting, if thinly stocked, museum of weapons, porcelain and royal knickknacks. A painting shows former sultan Jabar, wearing the royal crown, and his father, Sultan haji Mohammad Usman.
Rounding north Ternate, cone shapped Hiri Islands appears less than a kilometer away offshore. A few kilometers further, near Takome Village, a short side road leads inland to lovely Danau Tolire Besar (big lake Tolire). Emerald waters fill this steep sided, vegetation encircled crater lake. There is a path around a part of the high rim. Public transportation on the main road here is rare and Tolire can be conveniently reached only by chartered bemo. Tolire kecil (little Tolire), a smaller lake, lies between the main road and the nearby beach. Its smooth surface is a perfect mirror reflecting the Gamalama volcano.
Only visitors in good physical condition with a full day to spare should consider climbing Gamalama volcano. The effort could be rewarded with incredible panoramas and a smoldering. Sulfurous crater – or it could be ruined by bad weather.
- Tidore
To visit Tidore, you can take a boat ride from Ternate’s Bastiong dock to run on northwest Tidore in no more than 15 minutes. The boat runs every half hour or so. At rum there is a crumbling fortress and a colorful Sunday Market.
The pace of life on Tidore is relaxed, even in the capital city. Seaside villages surround Tidore, and most of the 35,000 Tidorese are concentrated on the southern coast. A paved road encompasses most of Tidore’s 45 kilometer circumference, but this crucial link gets progressively worse the further one gets from Soa Siu. Plans call for paving the remaining seven odd kilometers.
The scenery from the perimeter road is superb : Kiematubu volcano, Ternate’s Gamalama and the islands of Mare, Moti and Makian. At one point, in the distance, you can see the lava flow from crater to see where a 1988 explosion nearly split Makian Island into two. Many of the people living on Makian fled fled to Moti Island.
Of the sultan’s palace, located above Soa Siu, only some masonry and a stairway remain. At one end of a field that used to be the front lawn of the palace (now used for football games) lie the graves of Nuku, Tidore’s best known sultan, and Jainal Abidin Syah, the last of the line.
- Halmahera
North to south, Halmahera measures 330 kilometers and at its widest point, 160 kilometers across, for a total land area of just under 18,000 sq km. Although Seram is slightly larger, Halmahera spreads over a much greater area and is a more imposing presence.
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Jailolo was just a bit north of Ternate on Halmahera’s west coast, perhaps the most important political power on Halmahera. Although historical evidence is faint, Jailolo must have had a measure of power and autonomy during the early 16th century, because records show that a combined force of ternateans and Portuguese overwhelmed the sultanate in 1551.
Today Halmahera is well connected to the rest of the Moluccan region. The island receives daily flights from Manado in Sulawesi and Ambon, although they are sometime cancelled and are often overbooked. From Ternate, daily ferries and several secheduled flights each week carry passengers to various points in North Halmahera.
In 1798, the Sultan of Tidore, who had just kicked out the Dutch from his island, proclaimed a noble from Makian as the sultan of Jailolo. This re-established the sultanate, which lasted only until 1832, when the Dutch forced the aristocracy into exile.
Halmahera’s northern peninsula, the largest of the island’s fingers, remains actively volcanic. On its eastern coast, dotted with offshore islands, is a paragon of tropical island beauty : bright, wide beaches, profusions of coconut trees, and clear waters alive with coral and fish.
The coast’s dominant ethnic groups are the people of Tobelo. Originally seafarers, perhaps even more like pirates, the Tobelorese originally settled such strategic colonies as Morotai, north of Halmahera, and Bacan, west of Halmahera’s southern tip. The Papuan languages spoken in north Halmahera are related to those spoken in western New Guinea, but the people are more Malay in appearance.
There are reports of a small Tobelo clan called ‘Moro’ considered to be of Portuguese descent. The Moro clan is locally considered to be the most refined. Marriages take place only within the clan. During a recent wedding of a couple who broke this regulation, the angry ancestral spirits spoiled the feast by throwing sand on all the food that was so carefully prepared for the guests. On the island of Seram there is another Moro clan, to which all sorts of supernatural powers are attributed.
- Morotai
Seven long strips were laid down on Morotai, and the hundreds of planes stationed there destroyed the Japanese fortifications in the Philippines. It was striking from Morotai that MacArthur finally make good on his promise : “ I shall return”.
The island’s largest town, Daruba, is in the island, Daruba, is in the island’s south, near the coast. Some 6,000 people live in Daruba. Electricity was scheduled for mid 1988. there is no movie house yet. A few Indonesian-Chinese families, each maintaining a well stocked stores on the main street, are the kingpins of the local economy. They warehouse copra, cacao and cloves gathered by local families for export.
Until early 1988, there were plenty of war relics lying around Morotai – airplanes, tanks, and trucks. These anachronistic machines rusted to the color of clay and choked by thick jungle vegetation, were plaintive reminders of the peculiar horrors of world warn.
Hundreds of burned jeeps and trucks are heaped in a pit one kilometer from Totodoku Village.
Today’s visitor to Morotai can enjoy the water without worrying about how to invade the Philippines. The offshore islands are excellent locations for snorkeling, swimming and scuba diving. White sand beaches line most of these islands. The east shore facing Daruba have coral approaches with the usual variety of tropical reef fish. The western shores drop off steeply. This is where the bigger fish tend to congregate. Tuna, sharks, large rays and other pelagic and deep water species can all be sighted in a 45 minutes scuba session at 20-23 meter depth.
Pulau Sumsum, about a quarter hour from Daruba, should be included in a visitor’s island hopping plan. Several atolls just south of Sumsum offer protected dives with a variety of corals and drops of 20-25 meters to the sandy bottom. A world war II ship is said to have sunk in this area.
Things did begin to change bit by bit on Morotai in the mid 1980s when Merpati began its Saturday flight from Ternate to the US built airfield and a ferry service, averaging three times a week, started operating a Ternate- Daruba-Tobelo run. But foreign visitors are few and far between. In the 1970s, some Japanese veterans dropped by, and some Dutchmen invaded Morotai on a ‘nostalgia’ tour. Other than these local informants can remember only two lipidopterists that visited the island to collect butterflies.
- Kei Islands
Knowledgeable travelers have remarked that the Kei’s fine grained : snow white beaches surpass any in the world. One of the finest beaches is at Ohoideertutu, 40 km from Tual and can be reached by public transportation. Ngur Bloat of Pasaiung Panjang Beach, 17 km from Langgur on Kei Kecil’s northwest coast, sweeps around a majestic, curved bay, fringed with coconuts the road here is terrible however, and taxi drivers are seldom willing to risk their springs by making the trip.
If you have spare time, hop on one of the frequent boats to Kei Besar. There are only footpaths around this long, mountainous island and no tourist facilities. Bring your passport and some knowledge on Indonesian, because you might have to explain to police what you are doing so far off the beaten path.
Although many traditions are maintained by the 40,000 residents of Kei Besar, the Tanimbar Kei Islanders are the most traditional in the archipelago. Called Tanebar-Evav by its inhabitants, this island lies off southwestern Kei Kecil. Although the language spoken here is similar to that used on Kei, many of the old ritual words are still used in various ceremonies.
- Aru
The Aru archipelago spreads over 6,325 sq km. The main island is cut by five small channels into six islands – Kola, Wokam, Kobroor, Maikoor, Koba and Trangan. The island group’s administrative center, Dobo village on the little island of Wamar, maintains communications with Ambon and Tual in the Keis through on occasional passenger / cargo boat.
Some 41,000 people live in the Arus today, double the figure at the end of World War II. Almost three fourths are Protestants, the rest are Catholic and Muslims. There are also some very strong traces of animism and traditional religion.
The Papuan inhabitants of the Arus live by subsistence farming supplemented by fishing and hunting of wild pigs and introduced deer. The Aru islanders are dispersed in 122 villages. The largest city is Dobo, which is about 3,500 people, mostly non Papuan-Chinese, Makassarese and Bugis. An airfield is partially constructed, but a lck of funds has kept it from being finished.
Sago is the most important staple food. Some obtain cash income by collecting live butterfly larvae. Although five languages are spoken in the Arus, all the natives share a common mythology.
- Tanimbar
The Tanimbars group lies due south of the tip of Western New Guinea’s Bird’s head and forms part of the arc that includes the Kei Islands to the northeast, and Babar and Leti to the southwest. The Tanimbarese are a racial mixture of Indonesian and Papuan blood, with dark (but not black) skins and frizzy hair, but non-Irianese facial features.
The Tanimbars are split into two ‘kecamatan’ or sub districts, with the north controlled out of Larat, on Laru island off Yamdena’s northern tip, and the south out of Saumlaki. The population of the Tanimbars pushes 70,000, having more than doubled since World War II. Saumlaki was a regular port of call for steamships and the center of the Dutch colonial presence in the islands. Today, Saumlaki’s 3,400 people make it the largest urban area of the Tanimbars.
Even today Tanimbarese dancesr wear locally woven sarong and some sport ivory bracelets, ancient beads, and headdresses of a stuffed bird of paradise or heirloom gold jewelry. These gold pieces – necklaces or forehead ornaments – feature ancient motifs including the distinctive Tanimbar style face.
Antique jewelry or old woodcarvings are difficult to purchase – even for thousands of dollars. These and other ancient objects posses supernatural powers and, treated properly, the power of ancestors work through the heirlooms to keep the living in good health and bless them with abundant harvests.
Although museum pieces are difficult to obtain, there are well made local souvenirs available to anyone.
Tanimbar’s ancient beliefs partially followed today, link the southern Moluccas with other megalithic cultures in the archipelago.
The village of Sanglia Dol, an Yamdena’s east coast, holds some of the area’s best megalithic remains.
The Tanimbars are split into two ‘kecamatan’ or sub districts, with the north controlled out of Larat, on Laru island off Yamdena’s northern tip, and the south out of Saumlaki. The population of the Tanimbars pushes 70,000, having more than doubled since World War II. Saumlaki was a regular port of call for steamships and the center of the Dutch colonial presence in the islands. Today, Saumlaki’s 3,400 people make it the largest urban area of the Tanimbars.
Even today Tanimbarese dancesr wear locally woven sarong and some sport ivory bracelets, ancient beads, and headdresses of a stuffed bird of paradise or heirloom gold jewelry. These gold pieces – necklaces or forehead ornaments – feature ancient motifs including the distinctive Tanimbar style face.
Antique jewelry or old woodcarvings are difficult to purchase – even for thousands of dollars. These and other ancient objects posses supernatural powers and, treated properly, the power of ancestors work through the heirlooms to keep the living in good health and bless them with abundant harvests.
Although museum pieces are difficult to obtain, there are well made local souvenirs available to anyone.
Tanimbar’s ancient beliefs partially followed today, link the southern Moluccas with other megalithic cultures in the archipelago.
The village of Sanglia Dol, an Yamdena’s east coast, holds some of the area’s best megalithic remains.
- Wetar
Ilwaki, the island’s only town and descent harbor, is on the island’s south face, away from the main shipping routes. The interior tribes – formerly warlike headhunters and very hostile to outsiders- still follow may of their traditional ways.
The ‘Kecamatan’ of Leti-Moa-Lakor, names for the three principal islands, has lost much of its population in the last half century. Before the second world war, these three islands were home to 15,000 people : today there are only 1,200. Many of them have left to become workers elsewhere in the archipelago.
The Babar group includes six islands, of which Babar is the largest. Culturally, the Babars, and the Semati and Leti groups to the west, have been under the leadership of Luang Island. The people of these islands were fiercely warlike, and hostile to any Europeans who ventures into the area. An English trading vessel was boarded by the local here and its crew butchered to the last man. And even during the 19th century, the Dutch has little control over what one contemporary report calls Babar’s “unruly natives”.
Headhunting was an important activity well into the 20th century. And even today, families still preserve ancestral skulls in sacred caves, hoarding them as a source of strength. The ‘Kecamatan’ seat is Tepa on the north coast of Babar Island, where most of the group’s 6,000 people live.