Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 100 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
suppressed under one of the last Rajahs, Kaicil Papa (1848). They were forced to carry out
statute labor, so they fled to the mountains and the village declined.
Boni laid claim to lands which belonged to Tobungku, but upon investigation his
claim was found to be invalid, and it was deemed necessary to draw up formal terms with
the native government. This was the first contract, concluded on June 3, 1850, between the
Delegate A.F.I.I.G. Revius and Kaicil Sadek. Kaicil Sadek especially appreciated it because
it clarified his relationship with regard to the other rulers of Celebes. This contract was, in
contravention of the existing regulations, not ratified by the Government. As a result, after
Kaicil Sadek’s death in late 1851, a new contract had to be concluded with his successor,
Kaicil Baba. This second contract was confirmed by oath on February 5, 1853. Kaicil Baba
died on December 10, 1869, and in his place Kaicil Moloku was made Rajah on September
16, 1873. Whether he is still alive is doubtful; he vanished without leaving a trace and
nobody knows where he went. It is assumed that pirates caught and abducted him. When
nothing was heard from him, Kaicil Latojo was chosen Rajah on March 17, 1879. He died
in April 1881, and was succeeded by Kaicil Laopeke, who was sworn in as Rajah on May 20,
1884, without any deed of confirmation. 11
The Rajah is assisted by several officials: a Jogugu, a Captain-Laut, and two Majors,
one of whom [p. 145] is the commanding officer of his soldiers. They are differentiated as
Major-Tanah and Major-Kompania. The Sangajis of the nearby kampongs are consulted by
the Rajah in matters of administration.
At Sakita, the Sultan of Ternate has an Utusan, a few lower officials such as a
Jurtulis, an Alferes, and a few Baru-Baru, but the Baru-Baru are not all there at the same
time. 12 A few kampongs have been selected to supply these officials with sago, oil, and
other goods. They are also given a few servants for domestic work. The Sultan has little
authority, however, and this is compounded by the clumsy interference which these officials
make in local affairs. The aim of the officials is to get as much personal profit as they can,
and they have no concern for a well-run administration. 13
This situation has caused some conflict: Tobungku would ask the Buginese to help
them either to expel the Ternatese or to massacre them. This happened once in November
1840, when, with the help of the people of Kendari, the benteng (fortress) at Sakita was
destroyed by the people. The Utusan and all the Ternatese were murdered, only one officer
11 [p. 144, n. 2] See the “Short Chronicle” for further details.
12 [p. 145, n. 1] Bosscher and Matthijsen say that there are forty, but there are at most ten or
twelve.
13 [p. 145, n. 2] Bosscher and Matthijsen have overestimated the power of the Utusans. The
Rajah and other local officials may at times fear a high-handed Ternatese official, but in reality
Ternatese influence, so far from the capital, is slight. However, sometimes goods and products are
taken from the inhabitants, with the help of the Baru-Baru, often completely arbitrarily. Selfinterest
keeps the officials from pushing this too far, although in their defense it should be said that
they are stationed there to live at the expense of the population. That there is a Ternatese official in
each important village (Bosscher and Matthijsen, p. 69) is not true: only at Woso is there an Alferes,
nowhere else.
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