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Maluku is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the central and southern regions of the Maluku Islands. The capital city and major commercial center of Maluku is located in Ambon on the small Ambon Island. The land area is 62,946 km2, and the total population of this province at the 2010 census results amounted to 1,533,506 people; the latest official estimate (as at mid 2019) is 1,768,500. The province is directly adjacent to North Maluku and West Papua in the north, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi in the west, Banda Sea, East Timor and East Nusa Tenggara in the south and Arafura Sea and Papua in the east. With a total area of 712,480 km2, of which the land area is only about 7,4 percent, Maluku has a large potential in fishery and tourism. The Maluku archipelago has been well-known since hundreds of years ago with its commodities of nutmeg, cloves and coconut which have been traded all over the world since the Portuguese rule over Maluku in the late 15th century. Maluku also has a large potential in natural resources, such as gold, nickel and copper. Mount Binaiya in Seram is the highest point in the province, with a height of 3,027 m (9,931 ft).

Before the colonial era, Maluku became the axis of the world's spice trade with cloves and nutmeg as the main product of the region, which made the Maluku archipelago known as the Spice Islands to this day. The wealth of these spices also became the attraction of European nations who eventually controlled the Moluccas, starting with the Portuguese and finally the Dutch. Maluku remained part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, following the Japanese occupation and Indonesia's independence. Distrusting the newly established Indonesian government, the largely pro-Dutch Moluccans declared the independence of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) in Ambon and Seram on 25 April 1950. The Indonesian government reacted quickly and crushed the rebellion in November 1950. All of the Maluku archipelago was administered under a single province until 1999, when the northern part of Maluku (then comprising the Maluku Utara Regency, the Halmahera Tengah Regency and the City of Ternate) were split off to form a separate province of North Maluku (Maluku Utara).

An island province, the indigenous Moluccans formed the dominant ethnic group in the province. The term "Moluccans" itself is used as a blanket term for the various ethnic and linguistic groups native to the province, which may have a distinct culture and traditions from one another. The remaining ethnic groups are mainly people who fare from the nearby island of Sulawesi, such as the Bugis and Butonese. A small but significant Javanese population also live in Maluku, especially in urban areas such as Ambon. Javanese emigration to Maluku have dated back from the Dutch colonial era. Lastly, the Bajau people, a nomadic group also inhabits the coastal regions of Maluku. Islam and Christianity (both Protestantism and Catholicism) are the two most embraced religion in Maluku, with the former being adhered by a slightly higher percentage of the population.

Etymology
Historically, the term Maluku referred to the four royal centers in North Maluku, namely Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. A type of confederation consisting of the four kingdoms, which most likely emerged in the 14th century, was called Moloku Kie Raha or "Four Mountains of Maluku". Although the four kingdoms subsequently expanded and covered the entire North Maluku region (as now defined) and parts of Sulawesi and New Guinea, the area of expansion was originally not included in the term Maluku. This only referred to the four main clove-producing islands to the west of Halmahera: Ternate, Tidore. Moti and Makian. Bacan further to the south, and Jailolo on Halmahera, were also commonly included in Maluku Proper, the four kingdoms forming a ritual quadripartition with connotations to local cosmology.

The etymology of the word Maluku is not very clear, and it has been a matter of debate for many experts. A common theory says that the term Maluku originates from the Arabic phrase Jaziratul Muluk (جزيرة الملوك), which means "Country of the Kings" (muluk is the plural form of malik, which means king). Thus the kingless Ambon archipelago, the Banda archipelago and island groups to the south were at that time not included in the original sense of the term. The name has been mentioned in the fourteenth-century Majapahit eulogy, Nagarakretagama by the local language with the meaning "the head of a bull" or "the head of something large". Though there is speculation that Majapahit writers sourced their name from the Arabic name. However, the term is known in texts from the 14th century, before there was likely any significant Arab influence, putting this etymology in doubt.

Pre-colonial era
The Maluku Islands began to form between 150 and one million years ago, between the Mesozoic and the Ice Age. The Aru Islands located on the eastern part of the province was part of the Sahul continent, which was connected to Australia, while the remaining island groups are also part of the Australasian realm, but were never joined to either the Australian or Asian continents. Australo-Melanesians were the first people to inhabit the islands at least 40,000 years ago, and then a later migration of Austronesian speakers around 2000 BC. Archaeological evidence here relies largely on the occurrence of pigs' teeth, as evidence of pork eating or abstinence therefrom.

Maluku became one of the most important places in world trade because of its spices, especially nutmeg and cloves, which were sought after by traders from Europe. In the past, world trade is said to have been divided into two routes, namely the silk route and the spice route, both of which passed through Maluku. Therefore, Maluku used to be crowded with foreign traders such as from Arabia, Persia, Gujarat, and China. In the 7th century, traders from China controlled the Maluku spice trade, then the trade was controlled by Arab and Persian traders in the following centuries. Even so, Arab and Persian traders have been recorded to market spices from the Moluccas such as cloves to Europe since the 7th century.

In the 12th century the territory of the Srivijaya Kingdom included the Maluku Islands. At the beginning of the 14th century the Majapahit empire ruled the entire sea area of Southeast Asia. At that time, traders from Java monopolized the spice trade in Maluku. At the same time, Islam began to spread to the people of Maluku — previously Islam was only embraced by travelers and traders — through trade relations with the Middle East and the missionaries of Java and Malacca. In the late 13th century, four great kingdoms emerged in the northern part of the Maluku archipelago, which are Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, dan Jailolo. Following the demise of the Majapahit empire, the rulers of these four kingdoms embraced Islam and transformed their kingdoms into an Islamic sultanate. Although there were originally four kingdoms in Maluku, only Ternate and Tidore gained a significant sphere of influence in the region. Ternate, which was aiming west, expanded its territory to Ambon and western Seram, especially during the reign of Sultan Hairun and Baabullah in the 16th century. Meanwhile, Tidore who was aiming at the east managed to control eastern Seram and parts of the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea. The rivalry between the two great sultanates often resulted in clashes, such as in the competition to dominate the spice trade. According to historian Leonard Y. Andaya, Ternate's "dualistic" rivalry with Tidore is a dominant theme in the early history of the Maluku Islands.

Colonial era
The first Europeans to find Maluku were the Portuguese, in 1512. At that time two Portuguese fleets, under the leadership of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão respectively, landed in the Banda Islands and the Penyu Islands. After they established friendships with local residents and kings – such as with the Sultanate of Ternate on the island of Ternate, the Portuguese were given permission to build fortifications in Pikaoli, as well as the old Hitu State, and Mamala on Ambon Island. The Portuguese adopted a monopoly system while at the same time carrying out the spread of Catholicism. Nevertheless relations between the Ternateans and Portuguese were strained from the start.

One of the famous missionaries was Francis Xavier. Arrived in Ambon on February 14, 1546, then traveled to Ternate, arriving in 1547, and tirelessly visited islands in the Maluku Islands to spread Catholicism. The relationship between the Portuguese and Ternatean broke down in 1570, following the murder of Sultan Hairun at the hands of the Portuguese, which resulted in a war between the Portuguese and the Ternateans led by Sultan Babullah that lasted for five years from 1570 to 1575, causing the Portuguese to be expelled from Ternate and were driven to Tidore and Ambon.

The resistance of the Moluccas to the Portuguese was used by the Dutch to set foot in Maluku. In 1605, the Dutch managed to force the Portuguese to surrender their defenses in Ambon to Steven van der Hagen and at Tidore to Sebastiansz Cornelisz. Similarly, the English fortress in Kambelo, Seram Island, was destroyed by the Dutch. Since then the Dutch have succeeded in controlling most of the Maluku region. Dutch influence in Maluku grew stronger with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602, and since then the Netherlands has become the sole ruler in Maluku. Under the leadership of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Chief of Operations of the VOC, the clove trade in Maluku was under VOC control for almost 350 years. For this purpose, the VOC did not hesitate to expel its competitors; Portuguese, Spanish and the British.

During the Napoleonic Wars, British forces captured Maluku as the Netherlands were under French occupation. In that time they uprooted many of the spice trees for transplantation throughout the British Empire. After the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, the British returned Maluku to the Dutch. The return of the Dutch in 1817 received strong resistance from the Moluccans. This is due to political, economic and social relations conditions that have been bad for two centuries. The Moluccan people finally rose to take up arms under the leadership of Thomas Matulessy who was given the title Kapitan Pattimura, a former major sergeant of the British army. On May 15, 1817 an attack was launched against the Fort Duurstede on Saparua island, resulting the death of Resident Johannes Rudolph van den Berg and his family. Pattimura was assisted by his friends; Philip Latumahina, Anthony Ribok, and Said Orders. The news of this Pattimura's victory aroused the spirit of popular resistance throughout Maluku. Paulus Tiahahu and his daughter Martha Christina Tiahahu fought the Dutch on Nusa Laut, and Kapitan Ulupaha in Ambon. But this resistance was crushed by the Dutch due to being heavily outnumbered. Pattimura and his friends on December 16, 1817 were sentenced to death on gallows, at Fort Niew Victoria, Ambon, while Martha Christina Tiahahu died on the boat during her voyage to Java and her body was released into the Banda Sea.

Modern era
The outbreak of the Pacific War on December 7, 1941 as part of World War II recorded a new era in the history of colonialism in Indonesia. Governor General A.W.L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh via radio stated that the Dutch East Indies government was in a state of war with the Empire of Japan. The Imperial Japanese Army did not encounter much resistance in Maluku. In the Maluku, Japanese forces entered from the north through the island of Morotai and from the east through the island of Misool. In a short time the entire Maluku Islands was occupied by Japan. In World War II, Australian soldiers had fought against Japanese soldiers in Tawiri. And, to commemorate it, an Australian monument was built in Tawiri (not far from Pattimura Airport). The Allied forces surrendered to the Japanese in Ambon after the bloody Battle of Ambon, The battle was followed by the summary execution of more than 300 Allied PoWs in the Laha massacre.

On August 15, 1945, the Japanese capitulated to the Allied forces. Two days later, the Proclamation of Independence of Indonesia was declared. Maluku was declared as one of the provinces of the Republic of Indonesia. However, the formation and position of Maluku at that time was forced to take place in Jakarta, because as soon as the Japanese surrendered, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) immediately entered Maluku to assume control. Dutch controlled Maluku until 1949, when in accords of the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference, the Dutch recognize sovereignty of Indonesia. The Dutch soon left Maluku. Due to a deep distrust of the Indonesian leadership, which was predominantly Javanese Muslim, in 1951 an independent Republic of the South Moluccas (Indonesian: RMS, Republik Maluku Selatan) was proclaimed at Ambon, supported by the Dutch. The RMS had strong support among the former Moluccans colonial soldier. As a consequence, Indonesian forces invaded Maluku to crush the separatists. The main stronghold of the rebellious RMS group on Ambon was defeated by Indonesian forces in November 1950, while a smaller scale guerilla struggle continued on Seram Island until 1962. The defeat on Ambon however resulted in the flight of the self-declared RMS government from the islands, and the formation of a government in exile in the Netherlands. The following year some 12,000 Moluccan soldiers accompanied by their families went to the Netherlands, where they established a "Republic of the South Moluccas" government-in-exile.

In April and May 1958 during the Permesta rebellion in North Sulawesi, the USA supported and supplied the rebels. Pilots from a Taiwan-based CIA front organisation, Civil Air Transport, flying CIA B-26 Invader aircraft, repeatedly bombed and machine-gunned targets on Ambon. From April 27 until 18 May there were CIA air raids on Ambon city. Also, on May 8, 1958 CIA pilot Allen Pope bombed and machine-gunned the Indonesian Air Force base at Liang in the northeast of the island, damaging the runway and destroying a Consolidated PBY Catalina. The Indonesian Air Force had only one serviceable fighter aircraft on Ambon Island, a North American P-51 Mustang at Liang. Pope's last air raid was on 18 May, when an Indonesian pilot at Liang, Captain Ignatius Dewanto, was scrambled to the P-51. Pope had attacked Ambon city before Dewanto could catch him, but Dewanto intercepted him just as Pope was attacking one of a pair of troop ships in an Indonesian fleet west of Ambon Island. The B-26 was brought down by fire from both Dewanto and shipborne anti-aircraft gunners. Pope and his Indonesian radio operator bailed out and were captured, which immediately exposed the level of CIA support for the Permesta rebellion. Embarrassed, the Eisenhower administration quickly ended CIA support for Permesta and withdrew its agents and remaining aircraft from the conflict.

The Maluku sectarian conflict broke out across Maluku in January 1999. The subsequent 18 months were characterized by fighting between largely local groups of Muslims and Christians, the destruction of thousands of houses, the displacement of approximately 500,000 people, the loss of thousands of lives, and the segregation of Muslims and Christians. Inter-communal fighting broke out between Christian and Muslim communities in January 1999, cascading into what could be described as all out warfare and atrocities against the civilian population committed by both sides. The main belligerents were therefore religious militia from both faiths, including the well organised Islamist Laskar Jihad, and Indonesian government military forces. The conflict had a significant effect upon the 2,1 million people of greater Maluku. Leading up to the Malino agreement, the International Crisis Group estimated that 700,000 people had been displaced by the four years of fighting in the Moluccas which is thought to have claimed a minimum of 5,000 lives. This constituted the largest movement of refugees since the federation of the Indonesian state and the majority of the 1,4 million Internal refugees reported in February 2002 by the World Food Programme. The duration of the conflict is generally dated from the start of the Reformasi era in early 1999 to the signing of the Malino II Accord on February 13, 2002.

Government
Maluku was designated as a province (formerly Level I Region) through Law No. 20 of 1958 dated on 17 June 1958. which can also be referred to as the Maluku Establishment Law (Indonesian: Undang-Undang Pembentukan Maluku). The law is a stipulation of the Emergency Law No. 22 of 1957 which has the same objective. In this law, the city of Ambon is designated to be the provincial capital.

The province of Maluku is led by a governor (Indonesian: gubernur) who is elected directly by the people. The governor also acts as a representative or extension of the central government in the province, whose authority is regulated in Law No. 32 of 2004 and Government Regulation number 19 of 2010. The regional legislature of the Maluku government is the Maluku  Regional People's Representatives Assembly (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Maluku – DPRD Maluku ), which is considered as a unicameral legislative body. Both governors and the members of the assembly are elected by citizens every five years by universal suffrage. Prior to this, the local executives had been elected by a vote of the assembly. The number of members of the assembly is at least thirty-five people and at most one hundred people with a term of office of five years and ends when the new assembly member takes an oath. Assembly membership was formalized by a decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As of 2019, there are 45 seats in the assembly, scattered in several political parties. The majority (6 seats) are currently held equally by both the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and the Golkar Party after the 2019 general election. In administering the provincial government, the governor is assisted by regional apparatus: the regional secretariat, the DPRD secretariat, the inspectorate, 23 regional offices, and 11 government agencies.

Administrative divisions
This province is divided into nine regencies (kabupaten) and two autonomous cities (kota). These are subdivided into 118 districts (kecamatan) and then into 1235 villages (desa or kelurahan). Each regency is headed by a regent (bupati), while each district is headed by a district chief (camat) and each village headed by a village chief (known as a kepala desa or penghulu) for each village in the district. On the other hand, each autonomous cities is headed by a mayor (walikota). There are plans to create new regencies from current existing regencies in the future. There have been several attempts to change the name of several regencies to avoid confusions, such as renaming the former Western Southeast Maluku Regency into Tanimbar Islands Regency.

Prior to the European colonization era, the northernmost islands of Maluku such as Seram and Buru were either directly or indirectly ruled by kingdoms, later sultanates, hailing from present-day North Maluku province. Meanwhile the southern and less populated part of Maluku was mostly ruled by local chiefdoms.

During the Dutch East India Company (VOC) rule, the Maluku Islands was initially administered under three governorates (Dutch: gouvernement), which are Ternate, Amboyna, and Banda. The Amboyna Governorate, which was centered in Fort Victoria, covered present-day Central Maluku, except for the Banda Islands, while the Banda Governorate, centered in Fort Belgica, covered Southeast Maluku including the Banda Islands itself. The three governorates were merged in 1817 into one governorate, called the Maluku Governorate, following the beginning of direct Dutch rule in Maluku. The administrative divisions of Maluku was reorganized several times from then onward. Prior to World War II, Maluku was part of the Great East Governorate (Dutch: Gouvernement van Groote Oost). The Maluku Residency (Dutch: Residentie Molukken) was a subdivision of the Great East Governorate, which includes two departments (Dutch: Afdeelingen) that lies in present-day Maluku: Amboina and Tual.

The regencies (kabupaten) and the city (kota) are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2020 census, together with the 2020 Human Development Index of each administrative divisions.

Geography and Climate
The province of Maluku is bordered by North Maluku to the north, West Papua and Papua to the east, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the west, East Nusa Tenggara to the southwest, and the country of Timor-Leste and Australia to the south. As an archipelagic province, Maluku has around 559 islands, with the largest being Seram (18,625 km2), Buru (9,000 km2), Yamdena (5,085 km2) and Wetar (3,624 km2). 90% of the province is covered with ocean. The majority of the islands are forested and mountainous, while the Aru Islands are flat and swampy. Mount Binaiya (3,027 m) on Seram is the highest mountain in Maluku. Rainforest covered most of central Maluku, which, on the smaller islands has been replaced by plantations, including the region's endemic cloves and nutmeg. The Tanimbar Islands and other southeastern islands are arid and sparsely vegetated, much like nearby Timor.

The largest island in the province, Seram, is traversed by a central mountain range, the highest point of which, Mount Binaiya, is covered with dense rain forests. Its remarkably complex geology is because of its location at the meeting of several tectonic microplates, which have been described as "one of the most tectonically complex areas on Earth". Seram actually falls on its own microplate, which has been twisted around by 80° in the last 8 million years by the relatively faster movement of the Papua microplate. Meanwhile, along with the northward push of the Australian Plate, this has resulted in the uplift that gives north-central Seram peaks of over 3000 m. On the island, there are important karst areas. In the mountains, near Sawai, there is the cave called Hatu Saka, the deepest cave in Indonesia (-388 m). In Taniwell district, on the north coast, is the underground river Sapalewa, one of the largest underground rivers on the planet. The island of Buru, which is located to the west of Seram is also mostly mountainous, especially in the central and western parts. Flat areas are located in narrow strips near the coast and along the banks of the Waeapo River. The river valley forms an alluvial plain in the northeast of the island, which comprised the Waeapo district of Buru Regency. It is the largest alluvial plain in Buru, with a basin area of around 1,800 square kilometers. It drains into the Kayeli Bay in the northeast of the island, which is connected to the Banda Sea. The river floods annually during monsoon season. The river's mouth is a mangrove swamp, the largest on the island. Much of the island is covered with tropical rain forest.

The island groups located on the southwestern Banda Sea, including the Kai Islands, and the Barat Daya Islands are also mostly mountainous and densely forested, whil ethe Tanimbar Islands are arid and sparsely vegetated. The island of Wetar which is located othe southwestern part of the province is geographically not part of the Maluku archipelago, but part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Hence it shares many similar geographical features with neighboring islands such as Alor and Timor. Wetar is part of a volcanic island arc which includes the other Barat Daya Islands and the Banda Islands, created by the collision of the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is not, however, principally of volcanic origin, being instead mainly oceanic crust that has been lifted by the plate collision. The stratovolcano Gunungapi Wetar forms an isolated island to the north of Wetar.

Most of the islands of Maluku formed part of Wallacea, the area of deep water separated from both the Asian and Australian continental shelves. The islands of Wallacea lie between the Sunda Shelf (the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Bali) to the west, and the Sahul Shelf including Australia and New Guinea to the south and east. The only exception is the Aru Islands located on the easternmost part of the province, which is part of the Australian continent, along with New Guinea, Tasmania, Waigeo, and Raja Ampat on the Australian Plate.

The geology of the Maluku Islands share much similar history, characteristics and processes with the neighbouring Lesser Sunda Islands. There is a long history of geological study of these regions since Indonesian colonial times; however, the geological formation and progression is not fully understood, and theories of the island's geological evolution have changed extensively in recent decades. The Maluku Islands comprise some of the most geologically complex and active regions in the world, resulting from their position at the meeting point of four geological plates and two continental blocks.

The Maluku archipelago is geologically among the most complex of the Indonesian islands, consisted of four different tectonic plates. They are located in the northeast sector of the archipelago, bounded by the Philippine Sea to the north, New Guinea to the east, and the Lesser Sunda Islands to the southwest. The two largest island in the province, Seram and Buru rise steeply out of very deep seas and have unique Wallacea vegetation. This abrupt relief pattern from sea to high mountains means that there are very few level coastal plains. To the south lies the Banda Sea. The convergence between the Banda Sea Plate and Australian Plate created a chain of volcanic islands called the Banda Arc. The sea also contains the Weber Deep, one of the deepest point in Indonesia.

Maluku has a tropical monsoon climate, this climate is greatly influenced by the presence of vast marine waters and takes place in tune with the climatic season there. Central and southern Maluku experience the dry monsoon between October to March and the wet monsoon from May to August, which is the reverse of the rest of Indonesia. The dry monsoon's average maximum temperature is 30 °C while the wet's average maximum is 23 °C. Meanwhile, the northern part of the province has its wet monsoon from December to March in line with the rest of Indonesia. Each island group have their own climatic variations, and the larger islands tend to have drier coastal lowlands and their mountainous hinterlands are wetter.

Ecology
With the exception of the Aru Islands, Maluku is biographically part of Wallacea, which includes islands and archipelagos in the central part of Indonesia, separated from the continental shelf of Asia and Australia by deep straits. The name Wallacea itself is taken from the Welsh naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace who has described the biological boundaries of a zoogeographic area known as the Wallace Line. Malukan biodiversity and its distribution are affected by various tectonic activities; most of the islands are geologically young, being from 1 million to 15 million years old, and have never been attached to the larger landmasses. The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country's smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such as Java or Sumatra. Flora and fauna immigration between islands is thus restricted, leading to a high rate of endemic biota evolving.

The province is home to several native ecoregions, such as the Buru rain forests, the Seram rain forests, and the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests.

The Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests has 22 species of mammals. The dusky pademelon (Thylogale bruinii) is a kangaroo native to the Kai Islands, as well as the Aru Islands and southern New Guinea. The Kei myotis (Myotis stalkeri) is an endemic bat. The Indonesian tomb bat (Taphozous achates) is native to the ecoregion and neighboring Timor. The ecoregion are also home to several species of mosaic-tailed rats (Melomys). In the Tanimbar islands, Melomys cooperae is endemic to Yamdena, and the Riama mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys howi) is endemic to the island of Selaru in the Tanimbar Islands. Bannister's rat (Melomys bannisteri) is endemic to the Kai Islands, and closely related to M. lutillus of New Guinea. The other rodents of the Kai islands are Hydromys chrysogaster and Uromys caudimaculatus, which are also found in New Guinea and Australia. The ecoregion is home to 225 bird species, including 21 endemic species and subspecies. It corresponds to the Banda Sea Islands endemic bird area. A 2017 assessment found that 987 km2, or 14%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.

The Buru Island is home the Buru rain forests, which is inhabited by many species of animals and plants that are not found in any other places. Of 25 species of mammals found on the island, at least four are endemic to Buru and closest to it islands. The local species of the wild pig named Buru babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) is distinguished from the other Babyrousa species by having relatively long and thick body-hair. It also has very low fat content in their meat (only 1.27% compared to 5–15% for domestic pigs) and is regarded as a delicacy among the local population, which favours it to other wild pigs or deer in terms of texture and flavour. Also endemic to Buru are three types of bats: Moluccan flying fox (Pteropus chrysoproctus), Ceram fruit bat Pteropus ocularis and lesser tube-nosed bat (Nyctimene minutus).

The Seram rain forests is home to 38 mammal species. Six species are endemic to the ecoregion: the Seram bandicoot (Rhynchomeles prattorum), Spiny Ceram rat (Rattus feliceus), Dusky mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys aerosus), Dusky mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys fraterculus), Ceram rat (Nesoromys ceramicus), and possibly the Silvery flying fox (Pteropus argentatus). The ecoregion is home to 213 bird species. 16 species are endemic to the ecoregion. The ecoregion corresponds to the Seram endemic bird area. The largest bird in the ecoregion is the flightless southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).

The Aru Islands lie on the Australia-New Guinea continental shelf, and were connected to Australia and New Guinea by land when sea levels were lower during the ice ages. The flora and fauna of Aru are part of the Australasian realm, and closely related to that of New Guinea. Aru is part, together with much of the Bird's Head Peninsula in Western New Guinea, of the Vogelkop-Aru lowland rain forests terrestrial ecoregion.

The island of Wetar on the other hand is part of the Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion and is geographically part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It shares many similar faunas and floras with neighboring Timor. The ecoregion is home to 229 bird species. It corresponds to the Timor and Wetar endemic bird area. 23 species are endemic.

In 1997, the Manusela National Park in Seram was established for the protection of endangered species.

Economy
Maluku is the 3rd smallest economy in Indonesia after North Maluku and Gorontalo according to nominal gross domestic product (GDP). In other words, in 2018, Maluku contributed to only 0.29% towards Indonesia's total GDP. In terms of GDP per capita, Maluku is the 2nd poorest province in Indonesia, after East Nusa Tenggara, with a GDP per capita of only Rp. 24,278,490.00 ($1,690.09) in 2018. Nevertheless, on that same year, Maluku's economic growth is above the national average with GDP nominal growth of 5.94% and GDP per capita growth of 4.20%.

As an island province, agriculture, forestry and fisheries are the main backbones and supports of the Maluku economy, followed by government administration and defense and wholesale and retail trade. These business fields are also the main drivers of the province's economic growth. Maluku's industrial growth is one of the fastest in Indonesia with growth of micro and small industries above thirteen percent in 2019. In the same year, the province's open unemployment rate was the second highest in the country after West Java with a range of seven percent.

Ethnicity
Maluku are dominated by the Moluccans, which are part of the Melanesian ethnic race related to the people in New Guinea as well as other countries such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and several island nations scattered in the Pacific Ocean. They generally have dark skin, curly hair, large and strong bones, and a more athletic body profile compared to other groups in Indonesia, because they are a group of islanders where sea activities such as sailing and swimming are the main activities for men. Since ancient times, many of them already had mixed blood with other ethnic groups, namely with Europeans (generally the Netherlands, Portugal) and Spain, then the Arabs were very common considering this area had been controlled by foreign nations for 2,300 years and gave birth to new descendants, which is no longer a pure Melanesian race but still inherits and lives with the Melanesian-Alifuru style. Because of this mixture of culture and race with Europeans and Arabs, Maluku is the only Indonesian territory that is classified as an area that has the largest Mestizo population other than East Nusa Tenggara. Many Moluccans still retained foreign surnames from foreign countries such as the Netherlands (Van Afflen, Van Room, De Wanna, De Kock, Kniesmeijer, Gaspersz, Ramschie, Payer, Ziljstra, Van der Weden, etc.), Portugal (Da Costa, De Fretes, Que, Carliano, De Souza, De Carvalho, Pareira, Courbois, Frandescolli, etc.), Spain (Oliviera, Diaz, De Jesus, Silvera, Rodriguez, Montefalcon, Mendoza, De Lopez, etc.) and Arabic directly from Hadramaut (Al-Kaff, Al Chatib, Bachmid, Bakhwereez, Bahasoan, Al-Qadri, Alaydrus, Assegaff, etc.)

Today, the people of Maluku are not only found in Indonesia but are spread in various countries in the world. Most of those who migrate abroad are due to various reasons, of which the most classic was the large-scale movement of the Moluccans to Europe in the 1950s and settled there until now. Another reason is to get a better, more knowledgeable life, marrying and marrying other nations, who later settle down and have generations of new Moluccas in the other hemisphere. These Maluku expatriates can be found in quite large communities and are concentrated in several countries such as the Netherlands (which is considered the second homeland by the Moluccas other than the land of Maluku itself), Suriname, and Australia. The Maluku community in other regions of Indonesia can be found in Medan, Palembang, Bandung, Greater Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Makassar, Kupang, Manado, East Kalimantan, Sorong, and Jayapura.

Language
The language used in Maluku, especially in Ambon, has been influenced by foreign languages in a way, languages of explorers who have visited, visited, and even occupied and colonized Maluku in the past. The nations were the Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Dutch.

The Ambonese language as the lingua franca in Maluku has been understood by almost all residents of Maluku Province and generally, little by little, is understood by other East Indonesian people such as those in Ternate, Manado, Kupang, etc. because Ambonese is related to other languages in the provinces of North Sulawesi, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Indonesian, as the official language and language of unity in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), is used in official and formal public activities such as in government offices and in schools and in places such as museums, airports and ports.

Maluku is the largest archipelago in all of Indonesia. Maluku Province and North Maluku Province together compose the Maluku Islands. The large number of islands that are separated by long distances from each other also results in the increasingly diverse languages used in this province. Some of the most common languages spoken in Maluku - apart from Ambonese and Indonesian - are:


 * Wemale language, used by residents of Piru, Seruawan, Kamarian, and Rumberu in the West Seram Regency.
 * Alune language is used in three water streams, namely Tala, Mala and Malewa in the West Seram Regency area.
 * Nuaulu language, spoken by the Nuaulu tribe in the south of Seram Island, is between Elpaputi Bay and Teluk Teluti.
 * Atiahu language, used by three ethnic groups, which also included the Nuaulu family, namely Atiahu, Werinama, and Batuasa in the East Seram Regency.
 * Seti language is spoken by the Seti people, in North Seram and East Teluti, and also as a trade language in Eastern Seram.
 * Tarangan language, spoken in the Aru Island region

Religion
Most of the people of Maluku adheres to the three main religions namely Islam (49.61% of the population), Protestantism (42.40%), and Catholicism (6.76%). The spread of Islam was carried out by the Sultanates of Iha, Saulau, Hitu, and Hatuhaha and Arab traders who visited Maluku. While the spread of Christianity was carried out by missionaries from Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

Places of worship in Maluku Province in 2013 were recorded as follows:


 * 2,345 churches
 * 2,000 mosques
 * 10 temples
 * 5 Vihara

The Protestant Church of Maluku or commonly known as the GPM is the largest synod organization and church organization in Maluku, which has church congregations in almost the entire Sarane country throughout Maluku.

Music
The famous musical instruments are Tifa (a type of drum) and Totobuang, played together in an ensemble called a Tifa totobuang. Each musical instrument from Tifa to Totobuang has different functions and supports each other to give birth to a very distinctive color of music. But this music is dominated by Tifa musical instruments. It consists of Tifa, Tifa Jekir, Tifa Dasar, Tifa Potong, Tifa Jekir Potong and Tifa Bas, plus a large Gong and Toto Buang which is a series of small gongs placed on a table with several holes as a buffer. There is also a wind instrument namely Bia Skin (Shellfish).

In the culture of Maluku, there are also stringed instruments namely Ukulele and that can also be found in the Hawaiian culture in the United States. This can be seen when Maluku music from the past until now still has a characteristic in which there is the use of Hawaiian musical instruments both in pop songs and in accompanying traditional dances such as Katreji.

Other musical instruments is the Sawat. Sawat is a blend of Maluku culture and Middle Eastern culture. In a few centuries ago, the Arabs came to spread Islam in Maluku, then there was a mixture of cultures including music. It is evident in several Sawat musical instruments, such as Tambourines and Flutes that characterize Arabian music instruments.

Outside of the variety of musical instruments, Moluccan people are famous for being good at singing. Since long ago they have often sung in accompanying traditional dances. There are many famous Moluccan singers in both Indonesia and the Netherlands, such as Broery Pesulima, Daniel Sahuleka, Ruth Sahanaya, Eric Papilaya, Glen Fredly, etc.

Dance
The famous dance from the Moluccas is the Cakalele which describes the might of the Moluccas. This dance is usually performed by adult men while holding Parang and Salawaku (Shield).

There are also other dances like Saureka-Reka that use the sago palm fronds. The dances performed by six women really need accuracy and speed while accompanied by a very interesting musical rhythm.

The dance which is a depiction of youth association is Katreji. Katreji dance is played in pairs between women and men with varied energetic and interesting movements. This dance is almost the same as European dances in general because Katreji is also an acculturation of European (Portuguese and Dutch) culture with Maluku culture. This is more evident in every signal in changing floor patterns and movements which still use Portuguese and Dutch as a process of bilingualism. This dance is accompanied by a violin instrument, bamboo flute, ukulele, karakas, guitar, tifa, and bass guitar with a more prominent western (European) musical pattern. This dance is still performed by the people of Maluku until now.

In addition to Katreji, the famous European influence is Polonaise, which is usually carried out by Moluccans at the time of marriage by each party member in pairs, forming a circle formation and carrying out light movements that can be followed by everyone, both young and old.

In addition, there is also a Crazy Bamboo Dance. Crazy bamboo dance is a special dance that is magical, originating from Suli Village. The uniqueness of this dance is that the dancers are burdened by bamboo which can move uncontrollably and this dance can be followed by anyone.

Tourism
Some of the famous tourist attractions in Maluku include:


 * Manusela National Park
 * Pasir Panjang Beach
 * Natsepa Beach, Ambon
 * City Gate, Ambon

Cited works


 Category:Provinces of Indonesia Category:Maluku Islands Category:States and territories established in 1945 Category:1945 establishments in Indonesia