Page 179 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

Talking about lingua francas in North Maluku and even in the Maluku region in general
cannot be separated from local politics for example the kingdom period, sultanate period,
the Dutch colonial period, and the independence period of the moment.

Ternate Kingdom and Sultanate
The kingdom of Ternate is normally described as starting with the first king, Mashur
Malamo (1257-1277). Malamo played a key role in the origin of this largest kingdom of
Maluku (Amal, 2009). The oldest kingdom in Maluku is Jailolo. The embryo of the kingdom
of Ternate came from the conflict between Jailolo and local authorities and this led to the
massive exodus in the Halmahera direction in 1250. The people sought safety in Tobana
in the Gamalama mountaintop. Their leader was called momole. Around 1254, a new
settlement was built in a coastal area of Foramadiahi to accommodate the increase in
political refugees from Halmahera. Furthermore, the newcomers led by Momole Ciko built
a third settlement in Sampala in a coastal area as well. In 1257, the inhabitants in these
three regions negotiated to unite the regions. The result of deliberations was to appoint
Ciko as the first king of Ternate and he changed the title of momole into Kolano. He was
known as Mansur Malamo, the first Kolano of the Ternate kingdom. During the Ternate
kingdom era in the 13th century, the Ternate language was assumed to have been used as
an lingua franca considering the existence of this kingdom.
A century later, Kolano Cili Arya also known as Kolano Sida Arif (1322-1331) was the
leader that united the four kingdoms in Maluku then known as Maluku Kie Hara including
Ternate, Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo. The expansion of the Ternate kingdom was firstly
carried out by Kolano Ngara Malamo assisted by the Fala Raha group of five clans: Tomaito,
Tomagola, Limatahu, and Marsaoli.
Language contact between North Maluku and the migrants started in the 14th century.
The merchants of North Maluku according to Empu Prapanca traded with the Majapahit
through the ports of Tuban, Gersik, Sedaya and Jaratan. At that time, North Maluku
became a place on the spice trade route traversed by spice traders. This was stated by
Tjandrasasmita in an article published in 2001.21 The Chinese and Arab traders also passed
this route with their pottery jars and silk.
Zainal Abidin (1485-1500) was the19th king and is regarded as the first Sultan of Ternate
because he laid the foundations of Islam during his administration. Previously, Ternate was
led by a king called Kolano (Putuhena, 1980). Since then Ternate become a sultanate based
on Islamic government.

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