Column by Joaniek Vreeswijk
On 9 August I attended the demonstration for indigenous peoples in Amsterdam. The UN has declared this date the official international day of indigenous peoples, with the aim of raising awareness of and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide. And that is needed, because there are plenty of nation states that systematically violate the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2007 the UN adopted a 'Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples'. Several countries with significant indigenous minorities voted against the declaration, among them the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The day was also declared in recognition of their contributions to the environment and nature conservation. Especially now, in times of a pandemic and climate change, we need their traditional knowledge, voices and wisdom.
Because of centuries of colonisation, genocide, ecocide, intimidation and oppression of indigenous peoples still take place. This happens at the hands of modern nation states and capitalism, which violate the rights of indigenous peoples through their neocolonialism. Their living environment is systematically polluted, land is expropriated and people are displaced for the profit of large multinationals with the support of nation states. In the light of the continuing human rights violations and the importance of regenerating nature, representatives of various indigenous peoples called for decolonisation and restitution. Building the Baileo was a co-organiser of the demonstration and Romy Rondeltap spoke on behalf of this organisation, which stands for the preservation and transmission of Moluccan culture and identity.
Indigenous peoples, such as the indigenous tribes on Seram for example, still honour many traditions of our ancestors. These communities face food insecurity as a result of losing their traditional lands and territories to, for instance, the laying out of palm oil plantations. In that way they face even greater challenges in gaining access to food. With the loss of their traditional means of subsistence, many indigenous peoples working in traditional occupations and subsistence economies or in the informal sector are adversely affected.
Especially now, in times of a pandemic and climate change, we need their traditional knowledge, voices and wisdom.
Many Moluccans descend from the Alifuru, the indigenous population of the interior of the Moluccas. With exceptions. The indigenous people of Tanimbar, for instance, have a different tradition of origin. The Alifuru practised a nature religion in which ancestor veneration is central. One characteristic of the religion is animism – the belief that spirits reside in all kinds of objects. They also believe in mana, a supernatural force or substance. The Alifuru do not see themselves as separate from nature, but as descendants of Nusa Ina.
Over the centuries various clans spread across the many islands of the Moluccas. As a result, every village has its own adat isti adat: its own traditions when it comes to customs, norms and values. Think of ceremonies or rituals. We still see much of this cultural heritage in the traditions we cherish within our kumpulans (village associations) in the Netherlands and during Moluccan ceremonies and solemn occasions that take place outside these kumpulans. Think of the Cakalele, the traditional war dance. Originally the dance is a preparation for battle, performed with salawaku and parang. Precisely because so much of our traditional culture is still passed on from generation to generation, it is a shame that so few Moluccans were present last Sunday. Precisely because indigenous peoples in Maluku are the guardians of our traditional Moluccan cultural heritage.
But the transmission of cultural heritage goes further than that. Think of the pela bond. The pela bond has its origins in the distant past, long before Europeans occupied our Moluccan islands for the trade in cloves and nutmeg. New pela bonds also arose in the struggle against colonialism. Pela is still a very important adat rule today, but it is also a means of village development without government support. Villages stand by one another in times of need. That is how Ullath on Saparua came to the aid of our village Oma on Haruku after the earthquakes hit Oma hard in September this year.
It is not only the pela bond that remains important to many in the Moluccan community; the culture also encompasses an all-embracing traditional system of conduct and responsibilities. This system also includes Moluccan relationships within the villages. Most Moluccan villages, for instance, have village heads designated by clans through genealogical bloodlines. Some years ago the Constitutional Court in Jakarta ruled that candidates in the election of a new village head (Bapa Radja) do not necessarily have to live in the village itself. This means that the "matarumah radja system" has been abolished in all Moluccan villages. In practice this can lead to situations in which multinationals can easily obtain permits to seize Moluccan 'adat' lands and use the land to produce palm oil, for example.
It is important that wherever possible we stand by the indigenous population in Maluku in the struggle for self-determination and against oppression. Let us draw as much attention as we can to what is happening in Maluku. On the Friday before the demonstration (so two days earlier) I was at the Westfries Museum, for instance, to discuss what should be done with the statue of J.P. Coen. It is highly likely that there will be an exhibition about Banda, facilitated by the Westfries Museum, since next year marks 400 years since the genocide led by J.P. Coen took place on Banda. Hopefully that exhibition will also include how indigenous peoples lived before the colonial era. The history of Banda does not, after all, begin at the moment the Dutch arrived there. It also seems useful to me to include how indigenous peoples still living in Maluku today are threatened and oppressed. Let the world see the struggle that is going on in Maluku! I am writing this piece on the train… My Spotify playlist suddenly plays Toma Hasa Nusa… Coincidence or not. This is the message with which I should close:
''Itu katong pung gunung tana, bukang Bambang punia e. Ana Maluku buka mata. E kas tunju dunia e. Dari salatang sampe Utara e. Toma hasa nusa e. Upu ina upu ama. Toma maju sama-sama.''
This column appeared on 16 August 2020 on the Facebook page of Maluku Utrecht. Joaniek Vreeswijk is a historian and MHM republishes this piece with the author's permission.
