Maluku is a great archipelago of more than 1,000 islands in the Banda Sea of Eastern Indonesia. These isles have commonly been referred to by foreigners as the 'Spice Islands.' Northern Maluku is the ancestral home of cloves, nutmeg, and mace. The quest for these precious and costly commodities was a source of inspiration for Europe's 'Age of Discovery.' Moluccan islands like Banda, that were luxuriantly rich in spice gardens, were decimated during the violent struggle by outsiders to control the trade of these rare exports. The remote islands of southeastern Maluku, lying between Timor and New Guinea, lacked the abundance of the contested resources of their northern neighbors. The peoples of this region remained largely beyond the reach of world religions and thus maintained traditional beliefs, cultural practices, and art forms until their conversion to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Presently, Southern Maluku is grouped into three sub-districts: the Babar Islands in the East (including Luang and Sermata ), Leti, Moa, and Lakor in the center and the Southernmost Islands in the West (encompassing Kisar , Wetar, Roma, and Damar ), in addition to the archipelagos of Kai and Tanimbar further to the East. Many of these islands share similar cultural traits and practices. Masterworks of traditional Moluccan artistry include gold and ivory heirlooms, elaborate jewelry and ornaments, textiles, magical amulets, weapons, and shields. The most distinctive and beautiful figurative creations from this region convey a majestic sense of quiet, inner harmony, and artistic ingenuity. Reflecting the concept of a bi-partite as opposed to a tripartite cosmos, yet similar in design to other aristocratic houses in Indonesia, Moluccan traditional dwellings resemble immense oceangoing vessels. A nautical iconography befitting a fearless seafaring people is found in many physical aspects of houses, in the symbolic language applied to marriage and birth, and the ritual terms employed for many ceremonial functions. Aside from representing deities, the largest and most artistically accomplished sculptures often represented clan founders and other venerated ancestors. On the subject of female clan founders, Nico de Jonge has documented striking figures called Luli (meaning 'sacred') that represent the Southern Moluccan vision of an original 'Eve' — the founding mother of noble matrilineal family lines. These goddess-like figures range from subtle abstract renderings to some of the most beautifully articulated of all Moluccan sculptural creations. At times represented with extended arms raised towards heaven, the luli is the source of life and the fount of abundance. In de Jonge's analysis of gender dynamics in Southern Maluku, the fertile, life-giving role of women is set in stark juxtaposition to the life-taking, warrior identity of men. On the Leti islands, natural resources were scarce and warring groups were engaged in perpetual conflict and headhunting. The Porka festival is a fertility feast that brought an essential pause to life's daily routines with the intention of bringing about renewal and increased abundance. This ceremonial event was also initiated to bring a village back to a state of normalcy after negative or catastrophic events. Before a Porka feast, a village would fly startling flags in the shape of human figures and erect carved posts to announce its temporary closure. These celebrations involved a suspension of the usual social order to promote revitalization and a communal return to a balanced state of being. The mouth masks of Leti are remarkable creations that were deployed as dramatic props within this charged ritual context. During the Porka festival, there was great feasting, singing, dancing, and condoned sexual licentiousness. The headhunting and sexual aspects of these festivals were seized upon as the pretext for the expansion of European authority into the Southern Moluccas. During the late colonial era, many traditional practices were brought to halt over time due to the intensified proselytizing efforts of Christian missionaries. An exquisite array of Maluku masterpieces are found scattered through global museum collections including Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen in the Netherlands, Museo Rautenstrauch-Joest in Germany, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany, The British Museum, Musée du Quai-Branly in France, Museum Rietberg in Switzerland, Museum Nasional Indonesia in Jakarta, The Dallas Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Yale University Art Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Honolulu Art Museum. Valuable insights regarding the material culture of Southern Maluku are furnished in Nico De Jonge's Forgotten Islands of Indonesia: The Art and Culture of the Southeast Moluccas and with specific regard to the history of the region, in the writings of Leonard Andaya.
The Maluku Islands, also known as the Moluccas or the Spice Islands, are a region of Indonesia lying between Sulawesi and Papua. Mapcarta, the open map.
Ambon, Maluku
prow board (kora ulu), wood; late 19th-early 20th century, Tanimbar people of Indonesia
ÎLES TAMI, GOLFE HUON, PAPOUASIE-NOUVELLE-GUINÉE
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Page 6- Period Photos of People with Ethnographic Arms Ethnographic Weapons
Nias Warrior, Sumatra, late 19th century.
Torajan village elder
A troupe of Bahau Dayak performers during the Hudoq festival (Harvest festival) in Samarinda, the Residency of South and East Kalimantan, Dutch East Indies (present-day East Kalimantan, Indonesia). (Taken c. 1898–1900)
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- INDONESIA - The Largest Archipelago Country in The World This thread to explore our unique culture, heritage and various ethnics from all regions and...
