Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 40 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
rarely sufficiently fed, it is natural for the rulers to receive very little remuneration from
the activity. They are therefore inclined to hand over the advantages of the exploitation to
others, as has happened a few times during the last several years. This is not conducive to
the proper growth of pearl oysters either. 18
In 1859, the pressure exerted on the people active with pearl fishing caused some
serious irregularities. During the last years of the life of Sultan Mohammed Jain, a few
princes thought they could take advantage of the weak policy of the officials and take away
as much as possible from the oyster beds in a short period. All the people available were set
to diving almost without respite. When complaints were raised about the lack of food,
people from Ternate were sent there to help with the preparation of sago. Laziness on the
part of these workers caused them to plunder the dusuns (gardens) of the divers themselves
for this sago—so the divers were doubly hurt.
Under the command of a certain Gaw Gaw, one hundred and fifty Alfurus protested
against the wrongful treatment and fortified themselves on a rocky elevation near the
kampong Biang. 19 A few armed kora-koras (war canoes) sent from Ternate soon dislodged
them from that position. During the battle the leader was killed and his followers took
flight in haste. This was the end of the revolt, but as a result the pearl divers later received
small gifts [p. 62] in return for their labor and foreigners were no longer allowed to pound
sago without payment.
The coastal village of Kau is the meeting point of the traders who only rarely go into
the interior, since the Alfurus come down to the river to sell their sago and forest products.
The Sangaji, to which the Sangajis of the districts of Pagu, Boing, and Madole are
subordinate, does have a house there but he actually lives in the area called Kau-Islam.
We made the journey to Kau on the prahu-bangku of the post-holder of Galela. This
craft is much too big to ascend the river and we split up into groups and proceed to a few
smaller crafts with shallow draft. When everything is ready we row around the reef to
4. bia akar-bahar: corrupted by some to bia kayu baharu. These are named after their
characteristic behavior of attaching themselves to the branches of the akar bahar (black coral). At
one time they were very much in demand because of the mother-of-pearl, which had a value of f 16.-
per picul. There is no demand for them at present; they contain very few pearls of a yellowish color.
These kinds are found all over the Bay of Kau, as well as on the coast of Tidorese Halmahera near
the kampongs of Lolobata, Waisele, Waipiakal and Ekor. (Cf. Campen’s report in TNLb.) [p. 61]
A fifth kind, which is traded at Ternate, is called bia peya-peya or b. kakapis and comes from New
Guinea. The mother of pearl is worth f 18.- to f 20.- per picul; pearls are rarely found in them and
are of a brown-yellow color.
18 [p. 61, n. 1] Throwing the roots of bobatu (Millettia Sericea) into the seas will drug hundreds of
fish, causing them to float on the surface of the water, where they can be caught. It is known that
this practice has an adverse effect on the development of the pearl oysters.
19 [p. 61, n. 2] This Gaw-Gaw was a gomate or visionary, erroneously called gomahate by Campen
(TNLb, p. 287).
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