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TERNATE 45 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
V
Tidore, Makian, Kayoa and the West Coast of Central Halmahera
[p. 67] From the capital there are three ways to reach the islands which lie to the
south: one between Maitara and the southeast coast of Ternate, a second between Maitara
and the west coast of Tidore, and a third between the eastern part of the island Tidore and
the mainland of Halmahera. All three are navigable for bigger ships, although the routes
have not been completely and properly recorded. The two latter ways are mostly followed
by native vessels, which prefer to take the calmer route instead of exposing themselves to
the higher wash of the waves in the completely open sea to the west.
For this trip we follow the second route, crossing, for that purpose, from the jetty at
Ternate to Maitara, which compared to the cone of Tidore looks like little more than a hill.
On many maps this island is called “Norway,” a name never heard of on Ternate and
certainly not due to any resemblance with the Norse fjords. [p. 68] Many fishermen live on
the beach where it has a gentler incline, on the side facing Tidore. On the mountain top,
approximately twelve hundred feet high, a signal post has been erected. From here the
approach of steam- and sailing vessels around the south and the west is announced using
prearranged signals. 1 Maitara is overgrown with a dense mass of coconut trees, tended
with care by the Tidorese inhabitants since these palms do not thrive on Tidore. 2
The island of Tidore does not have much of a beach; the terrain rises almost
immediately into a series of hills, some of which reach a height of one thousand to fifteen
hundred feet. Most of these hills are arable, as can be seen from the many cleared areas.
The peak is situated on the south side. 3 Whether it is a volcano or not cannot be said with
certainty since no eruptions have occurred during the historic era. 4 On the top, of which
the last fifty meters are very steep and can only be climbed with the help of rattan, is a
small lake. Its depth has never been determined and it is overrun with creepers and ruturutu
(the Nepenthes species). On September 6, 1866, a mud flood occurred on the slope of
the mountain above the [p. 69] kampong Tuguiba. Thirty-two people were injured, all of
1 [p. 68, n. 1] Bleeker in his Travels (Reis door de Minahasa en den Molukschen Archipel..., 1856,
I:159) says incorrectly that Maitara is one thousand meters high, that it is uninhabited and that
there remains some doubt as to which sultanate it belongs. Why he says that it is volcanic is not
quite clear; Bickmore (1873, II:19) also shares that opinion. Many writers follow the English
spelling, “Mitara.”
2 [p. 68, n. 2] The rareness of coconut palms on Tidore is attributed by some to a spell cast by
Sultan Ahmadul Mansur but actually it is due to the unsuitability of the soil. This is also the
problem in Sawu and Jailolo on Halmahera, that the coconut palms never reach full maturity and
therefore are not worth the trouble of planting. Only in the higher areas of Tidore does one find the
arenga palm, which is tapped for domestic consumption, although most sagwire comes from
Halmahera.
3 [p. 68, n. 3] In Insulinde (1870-1871, II:30), Wallace is confused about the location of the craggy
volcanic hills; they are not to the south but to the north of the peak.
4 [p. 68, n. 4] In the Gazetteer (Aardrijkskundig, 1869, III:956), the statement that the crater
emits smoke from time to time is completely incorrect.
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