Unity in Disunity: North Maluku in the Early Modern Era

Here goes my first, and hence probably not-very-good, TL.
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(All maps from Leonard Andaya's The World of Maluku: Eastern Indonesia in the Early Modern Era, the virtually only source for English-language maps of the region, unless otherwise stated)

The Spice Islands. The very name itself brought with it a sort of mystique. Only in these islands at the eastern end of the world could you find the enchanting nutmeg and the delectable mace, and of course the greatest spice of all, the clove. But in the end, what are the Spice Islands? Are they simply a source of spices to be exported by faceless indigenes to the centers of the world? Yes, a European might have said. But what about the Spice Islander - or, to give his real name, the Malukan?

The Malukans loved war, the Portuguese said. Yet despite the frequency of warfare, especially before the establishment of Dutch hegemony in the mid-17th century, the two main kingdoms of Ternate and Tidore were never annexed by each other. Why? Because the Malukans did not war for total victory. North Malukan geopolitics originated in cosmological divisions of the world. The four kingdoms of Ternate, Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan were considered the 'four pillars' of North Maluku, and their existence, even in name only, was necessary for the continued prosperity of the Malukan world. So the royal dynasty of Jailolo remained exalted guests in Ternate long after Ternate conquered Jailolo in 1551. And when the Malukan world seemed to be collapsing – like in the late 18th century – Malukans clamored to restore Jailolo, and by extension restore Maluku to its heyday.

But if Jailolo and Bacan could be conquered, the destruction of Ternate or Tidore was unimaginable. They were the joint "lords of Maluku," the two most important members of the four pillars, and Maluku would persist as long as Ternate and Tidore both existed. They also filled distinct niches. Ternate was identified with the seas and the west. It followed Islam more stringently, Islam itself being a maritime faith. For instance, Ternate was the first kingdom to become a sultanate, while the position of pre-Islamic chief priest, the sowohi kie, ultimately vanished in Ternate. By contrast, the Sultan Tidore was the Lord of the Mountain. Associated with the mountains, the polar opposite of the oceans, Tidore had to rule the land (i.e. much of Halmahera), remained more connected to both the pre-Islamic past and the Papuan lands of the east, and as “wife-giver” (that is, Tidorese princesses regularly married Ternaten sultans but rarely vice versa) it had ritual superiority over Ternate. This land-sea dualism was reflected not only geopolitically, between Tidore and Ternate respectively, but within each kingdom as well. The Sultan, the Islamic clergy, the admiral, and others were associated with the sea, while many other high officials and village chieftains were associated with the land.

So if Ternate and Tidore warred, the ultimate goal was not a zero-sum game where one would destroy the other, but to meet the demands of the cosmological dualism between Ternate and Tidore (this isn’t to say that Ternate-Tidore wars were not also fought for practical benefits, of course). So the Ternaten and Tidorese royal houses married each other even as they warred, and despite their mutual hatred they advised each other against European activities.

But, in the end, the Malukan world shattered. The European took control, the dualism of Ternate and Tidore was finished. Could things have gone differently?
 
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Prince Katarabumi’s Stele, dated to the Islamic year 954 (AD 1547), still stands to this day in the heart of Old Jailolo. For half a millennium, it has been a reminder to passerby of the days when this quaint citadel was the center of an empire, when its people were sublimely confident of their fate before indigenous and Frankish challengers alike. It is also the first surviving example of Malukan writing. But ultimately, the Stele is wrong. “For whom among you shall be as great in fortune and success as the Prince Katarabumi?” It asks rhetorically. But the men who carved these words in fluent Arabic script could hardly have known that over the long centuries, Maluku would produce men and women far surpassing Katarabumi in their wisdom, in their valiance, in their spiritual prowess.

Front side of the stele:

In the name of the Sublime, He who is Lord of Mercy, who is Giver of Mercy, the Lord of the Countless Worlds to Whom is due endless Praise,
In the name of the Sultan, Shadow cast upon the Seas, Perfect Lord of Religion, whose Will is made manifest by keen Jailoloan blades,
In the name of the Kali,[1] whose glow is shimmering Moon which illuminates the Waves, which pervades the Bay of Kings[2] so that Islam be ablaze,
And in the name of Katarabumi,[3] Tiger-like Lord, the Conqueror who subjugates the endless Isles of Seas, who broadens Maluku’s rays.

It was Katarabumi, who took the hefty Mantle to oust the Frankish brutes, who took the weighty Mantle to oust Cross heresies.
It was Katarabumi, who made what is round yet is sharp enough to kill,[4] who trained the common people with muskets and steel krises.[5]
It was Katarabumi, who came to Minahasa[6] with the blinding light of force, who spreads the Sultan’s power in the distant western towns.
It was Katarabumi, below whom kneels Ternate from Kastela to Toloko,[6] who ascended Gamalama[7] to see the ocean’s crowns.
Reverse side of the stele:

It was this grand Prince who said, before the Kali and the chieftains of the world,

“In the ancient days, when madutu[8] was yet unknown to the people, an elder named Bikusagara rode on a canoe. As he journeyed the vast seas as the bird-of-paradise journeys the skies, he saw a clump of rattan[9] on a lone and lofty rock. And when he cut this rattan to make his baskets, blood gushed forth from the stalks. Astonished and bewildered, he examined the rattan and found four golden eggs of nagas[10] amidst the rocks. The venerated elder heard the Word of God, saying, ‘Take these eggs to your land, for they shall be your rulers.’ And so he did, and from the eggs hatched four men of divine success; these are the rulers of Maluku today. In truth we are brothers, born of the same nest of eggs. Quarreling is Maluku, like cassowaries which fight among themselves. Yet my family of Maluku is kindred forever, and the Franks but eternal vampires. Like the vampire they suck the people’s blood; like the vampire they are fiends in human shape. Who among here shall give the dagger to the vampire, so that he may domineer our kin, so that he may suck on the blood of the land?” And when all the lords of Maluku heard the Prince, they raised their hands in respect, and they gave their solemn word to never allow the Frank on their lands.

Fall back, strangers! For whom among you shall be as great in fortune and success as the Prince Katarabumi, save the prophets and the heroes themselves?

[1] Kali: Islamic cleric. Here this refers to the Kali Maluku, a mysterious figure of great importance to early Malukan history who will be dealt with in more detail later.

[2] The Bay of Jailolo.

[3] Prince Katarabumi, regent and Sultan of Jailolo, r. 1532-1551. His OTL reign saw the zenith of Jailoloan power, which came to an abrupt end when Ternate conquered Jailolo with Portuguese support in 1551. Refusing to witness the fall of Jailolo, Katarabumi fled to the jungle, where he died a hermit.

[4] A bullet.

[5] The Kris is a curved Southeast Asian blade of magical significance.

[6] See maps above and below.

[7] Mount Gamalama, the peak that makes up most of Ternate.

[8] The relationship between a ruler and a subject.

[9] A kind of palm used for furniture and handicraft.

[10] Serpent.

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I will mainly be using English approximation of Malukan words and concepts, to make thing simpler. Nevertheless, here's a glossary (mainly using Ternaten pronunciation):

Positions within the Malukan government in the 16th century:
  • Bobato: A chieftain of a ward within a village, literally "he who commands" or "he who makes order." I will translate this as petty chieftain.
  • Council of State: A council composed of twenty respected elders from the bobato class, with considerable power in early Malukan history.
  • Hukum: A judge, who may or may not be trained in Islamic jurisprudence. I will translate this as judge.
  • Jogugu: The most important minister in the Malukan court, with a variety of functions. The Portuguese called him a royal steward, but in reality he was also the tutor of the ruler and, in the early 16th century, often held greater power than the Sultan. In Malukan cosmology he was an official closely tied to the forces of the land, such as the village chieftains. With some hesitation I will translate this as chief minister.
  • Kapita laut: Admiral of the fleet. I will translate this as admiral.
  • Kaicili: A male royal. I will translate this as prince.
  • Kimalaha: Head of a village. I will translate this as chieftain.
  • Kolano: A king, noble, or lord. I will translate this as lord in most circumstances.
  • Naicili: A female royal. This can also include the Queen Mother, for example, but by comparison with its etymological sibling kaicili the translation princess seemed most apt.
  • Pinate: The official in charge of transporting tribute to the center. The kalaudi are his subordinates, implementing the ritual exchanges and arranging royal ceremonies. I have no translation for either.
  • Raja muda: "Young king," i.e. crown prince.
  • Sadaha: The keeper of the treasury.
  • Sangaji: A particularly powerful regional kolano, second only to the Sultan himself. I have no translation for this.
  • Sowohi kie: The chief priest of the kingdom before the introduction of Islam, in charge of the kingdom's regalia. I will translate this as chief priest. In some kingdoms the introduction of Islam meant that the sowohi kie morphed into a position mixing Islamic and pre-Islamic positions, the imam sowohi, which I will translate as chief cleric.
  • Syahbandar: 'Lord of the port' in Persian; the overseer of commerce in Malukan ports. I have no translation for this.
  • Utusan: The representative of the Sultan in far-lying areas. I have no translation for this.

Other Malukan terminology:
  • Alifuru: The non-Muslim peoples of the interior of Malukan islands, tied to the central courts by ritual and belief but outside the purview of the regular state apparatus.
  • Barakati, nanek, and guna: All concepts referring to prestige, fortune, and prowess, which is what distinguishes the outstanding heroes of the world from the ordinary man. The most equivalent term is found in the Pacific concept of mana.
  • Kali: A respected Muslim cleric.
  • Kie: Mountain. Since many Malukan islands are mountains, and since a kingdom is identified with an island, kie means by extension kingdom.
  • Kora-kora: A double outrigger canoe, sometimes holding as many as three hundred men though most kora-koras had a crew of only a few dozen men. The main form of transportation in much of Maluku.
  • Ngofagamu: The ordinary people; commoners.
 
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