Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 72 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
There are also two Alfuru kampongs, Tacim and Balisoan, which are under the
direct orders of the Captain-Laut at Ternate. The inhabitants have to carry out statute
labor for him and also have to give over a certain quantity of paddy.
[p. 108] Representing the Sultan in each kampong are an Utusan, a clerk, an
Alferes, and a Sarjeti, as well as a Baru-Baru who collects taxes. Sangajis act as chiefs of
the bigger kampongs. Their income consists of paddy or rice supplied by the population,
who also help in the cultivation of their plantations. A small creek, the Ubo-Ubo, to the
north of the Isle of Damar, forms the boundary of this territory with Jailolo.
At Wora-Wora Ta there is a shed with a revolving roof, or more precisely with an
extension in the form of a pigeon loft on top of the actual roof. Pulling at a long upright bar
attached to a crossbeam will set this extension in motion. On festive occasions this is a
source of great entertainment. One of the inhabitants told me that this structure had been
brought from Tidore a very long time ago and is still kept as a trophy and much revered.
The people of Sawu, when they come to Ternate to carry out statute labor, are often
placed by the Sultan at the disposal of the residents as servants, for finding domestic help
is always a problem. The Sawu people are very tractable and capable of rough work; but
when they have completed their service they do not want to stay any longer, not even for
high wages, and they return immediately to their own land. Their greatest pleasure is to
buy colorful clothes and uniforms with their savings, sometimes spending a lot of money for
them. They show off their finery when the Resident comes for a visit to Sawu. On such
occasions one can see hundreds of men, dressed up in all kinds of things, holding over their
heads the umbrellas that they carry constantly, to the amusement of the spectators. All the
people remain assembled for the entire day in front of the rest house, where they perform
several dances to the beat of the tifah and cymbals and sing loudly. The women and
children from the neighboring kampongs, wearing all kinds of adornments, flock to
participate in the general merrymaking. It is difficult to imagine that these same persons
go around almost completely naked [p. 109] in their normal and extremely simple everyday
life. They know the value of money, however, and keep quite large sums in the form of
rijksdollars (Dutch currency) hidden in places known only to the owner. 2 Their biggest
wealth consists of the possession of old plates of durable Chinese porcelain, taken out only
on special occasions and for the rest of the year buried in the ground in a secret place. 3
They grow a lot of paddy and maintain their plantations well; there are very few
coconut trees here or at Jailolo.
From the coastal village a footpath leads to all the Alfuru kampongs. The path is
usually overgrown with weeds and passable in a palanquin only if orders have been given
beforehand to clear the way. The Alfurus of the west coast understand Tobelorese, but not
the other way around: people of different tribes try to make themselves understood with the
help of the Ternatese language.
2 [p. 109, n. 1] A few people at Sawu showed me Zealand rijksdollars, which they call likalon and
value highly as heirlooms.
3 [p. 109, n. 2] Valentijn had already reported this—see 1724, II:75.
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