Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 59 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
not cut but rather is stripped off by hand; the blades are then crushed underfoot over a
sieve through which the grains pass. The paddy is all consumed domestically. 11
There is not much wildlife on Makian. Except for the wild boar there are only patola
or python snakes, which even attack people in the gardens, and a few species of vipers,
which have a venomous bite. The bird fauna is limited mainly to a few Corvus species
(crows) and a Lamprotornis with red eyes, which feeds by preference on the fruits of the
campaka tree.
Apart from their earlier revolt against the Sultan of Ternate, due either to the
erratic payment of [p. 89] recognition money or else to extortion by members of the royal
family sent there, the native population is considered docile and diligent. Captain Schotte
says that they are more industrious than the people of Ternate and Tidore and that they
cultivate their lands better. 12 They have repeatedly helped in catching pirates, and since
1864 they have no longer used the rorehes to go to Menado—these rorehes had previously
been manned for the most part with people from Makian. Always properly dressed like the
other Moslems in these regions, they wear the cidaku or loin cloth only when working in
the gardens or when fishing.
The normal dress of the headmen is the long kubaya, replaced by a shorter one when
officials come on a visit, on top of which is worn the typical black dress coat, with blue
trimmings and brass buttons. If they also hold the rank of officer (a present from the
Sultan when newly appointed) they replace the normal head shawl with a plain black one. 13
For entertainment they have, as on Ternate, cakalele or hasa, lego, and dodengo.
The first, called wowa on Makian, is a mock battle against an imaginary enemy. Armed
with lance and shield the performer leaps forward and backward, contorting his body,
alternately dealing a thrust or warding off an attack and often letting out yells as an
expression of feigned anger. 14 In days long past it was probably a compulsory exercise to
train warriors [p. 90] in wielding weapons to defend themselves. These days, though, this
war dance only serves as amusement, particularly to entertain guests. Dodengo, called
tayota in the Makian language, is a real fight, with two parties knocking each other about
with rattan, gabah sticks, or bamboos, often causing serious injuries. Nevertheless, it
11 [p. 88, n. 2] From the above it can easily be concluded that the claim of Temminck (1849,
III:418) that Makian can feed a population of twelve thousand to fourteen thousand souls is
absolutely not true.
12 [p. 89, n. 1] See the quotation by Brumund in Tijdschrift van het Bataviaasch Genootschap,
V:330.
13 [p. 89, n. 2] If they were also given a staff, this insignia of office has to be returned to the
Sultan of Ternate after the death of the holder, together with the simultaneous payment of 30 reals:
this is called uri ma-gogata. The Sultan usually does not accept this money, knowing that the family
already has many expenses on such occasions.
14 [p. 89, n. 3] The best pictures of the shields used when performing the cakalele can be found in
Le Tour du Monde, XXXVII:237; those depicted by Campen in Bijdragen van het Koninklijk
Instituut, 4th series, VIII, are very poorly drawn. They are made of the wood of Hibiscus Tiliaceus.
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