Ambonese people

The Ambonese are an ethnic group of mixed Austronesian and Melanesian origin from Ambon Island in Maluku, an island group in Indonesia located between Sulawesi and New Guinea. They also live on the southwest of Seram Island, which is part of the Moluccas, Java, Western New Guinea, and other regions of Indonesia. Additionally, there are about 35,000 Ambonese people living in the Netherlands. By the end of the 20th century, there were 258,331 Ambonese people living in Ambon, Maluku. The Ambonese are largely Muslim and Christian.

Language

The dominant language is Ambonese Malay, also known as Ambonese language. It developed as a trade language in central part of Maluku and is spoken as a second language elsewhere in Maluku. Many the Ambonese people speak Indonesian, especially around Ambon City and urban areas such as Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. While many the Ambonese people, especially those living in Muslim villages, still speak their own regional languages, which are collectively known as the bahasa tanah. Meanwhile, among the Ambonese people in Christian villages, most of their regional languages have become extinct, having been replaced by Ambonese Malay.

Religion

The predominant religions of the Ambonese are Christianity and Islam. According to Mikhail Anatolievich Chlenov, the relationship between the adherents of both faiths have generally been peaceful, based on the union of the communities' pela; which in the Ambonese language means "friend." However, he also mentions that clashes between Ambonese people and other non-indigenous ethnic groups occur on religious grounds. Mounted tension in the 1990s resulted in the 1998 interreligious conflict in Ambon. With the threat of civil war, many were forced to move to refugee camps in Ambon, with divisions between Muslim and Christian sections. The conflict resulted in thousands of casualties and up to 700,000 displaced people.

History

Ambon was first colonized by Portugal in 1526, before being occupied by the Dutch in 1605. There was significant mixing of the indigenous populations of Ambon Island and Seram Island, a prominent slave trade, and immigrants from other parts of Indonesia and Europe. The spice trade established under the rule of the Sultanate of Ternate was also seized by the Portuguese and Dutch.
The Ambonese people resisted Dutch colonization until the beginning of the 19th century. However, they have achieved a privileged position in Indonesia since the mid-19th century, with many Europeanized. The wealthy townspeople were legally equated with the ruling colonizers, and they were involved in state and military services. However, many indigenous customs such as tattooing have largely disappeared as a result. For such loyalty, the Ambonese authorities were nicknamed "black Dutch".
During the Indonesian National Revolution war for the Independence of Indonesia in 1945–1949, large groups of Ambonese people, especially members of the colonial army, emigrated to the Netherlands and New Guinea.

Economy

Ambon is a center of production of spices such as carnation and nutmeg, as well as sago as a food source. The Ambonese have been producers of nutmeg since the 17th century, which led to the conquest of the Dutch colonial in Ambon Island and its surrounding region in 1605 as an attempt to monopolize the nutmeg trade, resulting in the Amboyna massacre. Developed fishery, agriculture, horticulture, and small trades are also means of earning a living in Ambon. Ambonese craftsmen work in various industries such as pottery, blacksmithing, weapons making, shipbuilding, carving on tortoiseshell shell and mother of pearl, making ornamental crafts from buds of carnation, and weaving boxes and mats from strips of palm leaves.

Social structure

The Ambonese live in traditional rural communities called negeri, headed by a starosta called a raja. Communities are divided into territorial groups called soa, which unite patrilineal clans called mata ruma. Marriage ceremonies are performed only within sectarian groups. For the Ambonese, these are traditionally characterised by patrilocal marriages. Relations between members of the community are governed by traditional norms of behaviour called adat. Today, adat largely governs matters of family, inheritance and land rights, and elections for leadership positions.

Culture and lifestyle

A typical Ambonese village consists of about 1,500 people who live in houses made from woven sago leaves or plastered bamboo, wood, and coral stones, on stone foundations. The people cultivate the surrounding hillsides. Traditional rural settlements of Ambonese people are located on the shore and have a linear layout. Houses are built on stilts.

Clothing

Men adopted modern European style clothing due to colonization, and only on special occasions, they would wear short jackets and black trousers. Women wear thin blouses or small-patterned sarongs. Older women typically wear black, while younger women typically wear bright colored cotton dresses up to knee-length.

Food

The basis of the Ambonese diet is porridge made from sago starch, vegetables, taro, cassava, and fish. The inhabitants of the Ambon Island also have access to imported rice.

Music

The Ambonese people have a rich musical folklore, much of which has absorbed many European musical elements—for example, the Ambonese quadrille and the songs of the lagoon, which are accompanied by a violin and with a lap steel guitar. Traditional musical instruments include the 12 gongs, drums, bamboo flute, xylophone and the Aeolian harp.