Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 52 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
information is taken, does not mention it. 18 According to Valentijn, the clove trees on Moti
were extirpated in 1653. As a result, the people of Kayoa and Gaane lured hither by
Captain Schotte in 1610 may have scattered over the other islands.
There are no kampongs; there are, however, many gardens belonging to people who
live in the quarters known as Tafaga, Tokofi, and Tafamutu of the capital Ternate. These
people build small huts here and remain for longer or shorter periods. Their chiefs,
however, who live permanently on Ternate, only go there from time to time when their
subordinates do not pay their taxes regularly. One has to pay a certain land tax, kaha magoco,
for permission to cultivate a garden. This tax is f 1.25 annually for Ternatese and for
others f 1.60. There are also a few Tidorese who have plantations here. This has never
caused any problems as the rivalry between the rulers and nobility of Ternate and Tidore
[p. 79] does not seem to have reached the people in general, and one only rarely hears of
disputes between fishermen from the two states once the expeditions of the armed korakoras
had been tacitly abolished. 19
At the top of the mountain is a place of sacrifice (jere). Flowers and fruits are taken
there to ward off diseases and other dangers. A similar holy place is also found on the
volcano on Makian, and it is said that during the last eruption this place remained
completely undamaged. The worship of such places, where priests or headmen are usually
buried, does not differ from elsewhere in the Indies archipelago. The worship always has a
certain purpose: protection against possible disaster and the influence of evil spirits.
Moti is difficult of access except for small vessels, since it is completely surrounded
by reefs and shoals. People from Makian prefer it to their own mountain, especially as land
to develop, since wild boars are not found here at all. From Moti one can reach Makian in a
few hours. 20 This island is infamous because of the terrible eruption in 1861. The island is
not very big, since a native can walk around it in ten hours. It is inhabited by a people not
different in type from the Ternatese, but they speak a completely different language and
live on the east and west sides of the island. In the vernacular the island is called
Waikiong and one can easily recognize in this name the corrupted form of Makian (not
Makyan). The name Waikiong is now in common use, however, and [p. 80] it will be almost
be impossible to change it. 21 The natives of this archipelago call it Marah, a name as
obscure in origin and meaning as is Waikiong.
18 [p. 78, n. 2] See Valentijn, 1724, Ib:233 and de Jonge, 1872-1875, III:103 and 269.
19 [p. 79, n. 1] It goes without saying that this alludes to the mutual understanding during
normal conditions; during times of unrest or war the chiefs collaborate in stirring up hostilities and
exciting feelings. Marriages between Ternatese and Tidorese have always been opposed under the
direct rule of the Sultans on the islands of Ternate and Tidore.
20 [p. 79, n. 2] This means only rowing or paddling, since wind and current can cause the
situation to vary greatly when one travels in a proa. A native, who is never in a hurry, only travels
when the elements can be used to his advantage, and that is the reason why impatient European
travelers so often complain about their rowers.
21 [p. 80, n. 1] The incorrect spellings of Brumund (Tijdschrift van het Bataviaasch Genootschap,
V:335) are all of western origin.
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