Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 4
TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
ranks—schön, wunderschön, wundervoll—to express this excitement. Yet many people are
incapable of observing what is truly beautiful. The surroundings of Ternate provide a
marvelous opportunity for romantic expression. Its immense row of volcanoes immediately
bring to mind the terror of eruptions and their accompanying havoc, [p. 5] a somber scene
depicted in the accounts of many a traveler. For the observer who has never before
encountered a fire–belching mountain or experienced earthquake tremors, the small pillar
of smoke emitted by Ternate’s volcanic peak may be alarming. Yet apart from this sight,
the island offers nothing to stir the spirit. The monotony of the view deprives it of much of
its value.
Once the traveler sets foot on land, however, the situation changes completely. It is
as though one were on the shore of a lake or inland sea, with the coast of Halmahera on the
horizon. 4 The sun’s reflection gleams in the wide yet calm water. Numerous fishing proas
sail past, moving in one direction or another. Some glide smoothly with their sails set;
others are propelled rapidly forward, paddles keeping time with the chant of the oarsmen.
Here is irrefutable proof that in this place man makes the forces of nature subservient to
his will, despite the mute power of the burning colossus.
Bleeker, in his well-known work, 5 mentions the fact that the name Ternate,
depending on its use, can mean the Residency, the capital city, the Sultanate, or the island.
Of these, the first two designations are of European origin and came into being at the time
of the administrative division of the Dutch Indies. The latter two designations have the
same meaning, from the natives’ point of view, in that both indicate the seat of government
of the Sultan. Even now, in fact, “going to Ternate” in the language of the natives still
means going to those quarters of the city which are near the royal palace. Bleeker’s
description is misleading, however, [p. 6] since it also includes the harbor and the mountain
of Ternate, as well as other terms used by both Europeans and natives.
Now let us take a look around the capital city, moving within the boundaries as
recently determined by the government. 6
Measuring from the flagpole in front of the resident’s house, the capital is situated
at 47’13” north latitude and 127°22’39” longitude east of Greenwich. The city’s jurisdiction
stretches north and south along the beach. To the south, it reaches as far as Brangka
Toboko, 7 a gully with a stony bed along which water flows down the mountains after heavy
4 [p. 5, n. 1] Regarding the string of untruths published by Dr. Buddingh in his work
Neêrlands Oost-Indië (1867), it is almost unnecessary to mention that, contrary to Dr. Buddingh’s
assertion, Hiri cannot be seen from the beach (II:117).
5 [p. 5, n. 2] Bleeker, Reis door de Minahasa en den Molukschen Archipel (1856, I:181).
6 [p. 6, n. 1] Entered in the statute book for 1885, no. 186.
7 [p. 6, n. 2] Brangka or barangka is the plural of a Moluccan word meaning ditch, gully, dry
brook, or gorge. Some people claim that the word is of Spanish or Portuguese origin, deriving from
branen. [Translator’s note: de Clercq may be referring to Spanish and Portuguese barranco, or
Portuguese buraco, having these meanings.] In the Ternatese language, however, the word used is
nguai. Teijsmann (van der Crab et al., 1879) says (p. 194) that torrents are formed in these gullies
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