Page 28 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

bit adjacent, but quite often have high diversity levels, especially in terms of vocabulary. If
it happens in a language situation then it can be imagined that the difference in traditions
and habits of local society, assuming that various cultural foundation is not so much
different. Finally, shall it be questioned if a simple but fundamental question is also asked—
what are the possible things to possibly involve the relationships of hundreds of ethnicities
who inhabit hundreds of islands and have hundreds of languages as well—so that they
also feel the bonding under the jargon Bhinneka Tunggal Ika—which came from an old
language seldom or even never used now? The question is more important because more
than one third of population in the Indonesian islands include other races. If the majority
of the ethnics are said to be included in the Austronesian race, then the other and smaller
race, the Melanesian—so in fact their language and biological characteristics are closer to
the indigenous of various islands such as Solomon and Vanuatu and of course Papua New
Guinea, is located in the Pacific ocean?
Once the question has been asked, then should we doubt if the traditions of trading
and sailing which have taken place since the old times—at least since the era of big
kingdoms to have expanded their exploration—are just remembered in an instant? But,
in the old times when moving out and transferring without any stop as if filling out the
regions with permanent inhabitants, now sailing gets the tendency to widen the region
known or searching for food and items needed. The sailing exploration did not just give
some influence to the immigrants but also left some impressions for the place visited. One
of the impacts of such exploration and sailing was communication. If the visited area gave
the possibility to show what was wanted then it could be imagined that when the direction
of wind was already suitable then it would be revisited. In the next process, some areas
would be known better as a popular stopover of the sailing ships. If the trading prospect
was good and the direction of wind was also regular, moreover the ruler and his people
could serve the migrants well, then it could be imagined that the next development was
this ship stopover might then be a popular trading port. What was the consequence if this
tendency kept happening continuously? Indeed if each event was compared it might not
look the same but a general pattern could also be found.
It could be understood that if a port was frequently visited then it would develop more
and—if compared—the port not only became one of the trading centers but also an area
where there was a melting pot of cultures. One of the classical examples in this sense—
considered classic because of its fame—was Malaka, a very famous trading center in the
15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. So some foreign reports once also said

28 Introduction

MELANESIA BOOK FA LAYOUT 051216.indd 28 2/10/17 2:10 PM