****Totaal Moluks builds a bridge between the Netherlands and the Moluccas with a new online platform
Saturday 18 May is the day: the launch of the online platform of Totaal Moluks! With an app and new media you gain access to content that lets you get to grips with Moluccan Malay, Moluccan culture and history in an accessible way. Museum Maluku is proud to be one of the partners in this extensive language project. Founder Jamie Schaduw tells us more about his ambitions for Totaal Moluks and gives a first glimpse of what is to come.
Only a few weeks to go until the launch of Totaal Moluks. What can we expect? “With Totaal Moluks you get to know Moluccan Malay, Moluccan culture and history in an accessible way. On our online platform you can expect the most varied episodes. We have music episodes, you get to see short films from Maluku and you learn practical language from presenters in the Netherlands and in Maluku. You meet makers from Limburg to Arnhem and from Banda to Ambon City. We let the community itself speak and pass on language and culture to us. Every maker has their own background, way of speaking and surroundings, so you come to see that language is constantly on the move.”
Can you lift a corner of the veil for us already? “For a number of episodes we have a wonderful collaboration with Foco, a Moluccan band that gives many Moluccans nostalgic feelings. Still, I can imagine that younger generations do not always understand exactly what is being sung in their songs. That is why we have subtitled the songs in an enjoyable way. The metaphors and references in Moluccan Malay often draw on the surroundings in Maluku, such as fish and the sea. For the song ‘Nona Konde’, lead singer uncle John Matitaputty wrote the line: “Kalo nona ikang, beta makan lapis tulang-tulang.” A line that translates literally as: “Girl, if you were a fish, I would eat you, bones and all.” It may sound a bit odd, but it is a typical Moluccan metaphor. Since in Maluku we eat a lot of fish.”
What has been your motivation for starting Totaal Moluks? ****“At home, when I was young, Moluccan Malay was hardly ever spoken. I picked up a word here and there, but I only really learned the language when I did a six-month internship in Ambon at the age of 19. I built a bond with my family on the other side of the world and discovered that language is the key to that. It makes all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I could discover things myself, make contacts myself and draw my own conclusions. Language gives us as a community access to the stories, knowledge and perspectives of our parents, grandparents, ancestors and families in the homeland.”
What do you hope to achieve with Totaal Moluks? ****“The aim of Totaal Moluks is to make the Moluccan languages more accessible to younger generations and to build a bridge between the communities in the Netherlands and in Maluku. I hope it stirs something in young people here, and that they will dare to speak the language more confidently. I would stake my reputation on it that even people who already have a good command of Moluccan Malay can discover something new at Totaal Moluks. I can say with confidence that I now have a good command of the language, and still I learn something new on every visit to Maluku. When it comes to language I am never done learning.”
We are looking forward to it! What do we need to do to become a member? “From 18 May anyone can create a free account via our website or app and gain access to a selection of our episodes. If you choose a paid membership, you get access to all our content and a new episode every week. We are a non-profit organisation and do not aim to make a profit, but of course we work with all kinds of professionals in front of and behind the scenes who are all properly paid. We aim to build a large organisation that no one will be able to ignore. This is only the beginning. If you choose Totaal Moluks, you invest in our community. So I invite everyone to be part of this change.”
Celebrate the launch with us ****From Saturday 18 May you can create an account via www.totaalmoluks.nl and download the app from the App Store and the Google Play Store. The launch will be celebrated in an exclusive setting for invited guests at Museum Maluku, but you can join in via a livestream. Keep an eye on the socials of Totaal Moluks, where the link to the livestream will be shared shortly.
