Republic of the South Moluccas

chapter 1:

THE MOLUCCAN PEOPLE

Anthropological Background

(a) Alif'Uru.

We, the Moluccan people, are the original inhabitants named "alif'uru", who inhabit the Moluccas, the archipelago of the thousand isles, which are situa­ted between the Philippines in the north, Australia in the south, Celebes and Timor in the west, and Papua in the west.

(b) Siwa'Rima: Ethnological notion.

"Siwa'Rima" or "Siwa'Lima" is the basic structure of our "Adat Society" ("Adat": customary law, tradition). Siwa'Rima are two words originating in the Alif'Uru language, meaning "nine" and "live" respectively. The origin of this denomination can be retraced in two historical periods (1).

I

Siwa (nine) refers to the first "nine generations", which have developed into Nunusaku in the first historical period from which our "upu" (ancestors) originated. The upu consists of "upu AMA" (ancestor) and "upu INA" (ancestress). j

The upu increased, and after nine generations they ware "seal" (passed on) into "TALA MENA SIWA".

• TALA refers to the stream area of Way Tale (lama river).
• MENA indicates the genesis of our history as a nation.
• SIWA refers to the age of our people, at the time when she spanned nine generations.

Rima (five) refers to the next five generations which have developed into Tala­menasiwa in the second historical period.

(c) The origin of the Alune  and Wemale tribes.'

The Alune and Wemale tribes are the eldest Moluccan tribes. Only in Tala­menasiwa did our ancestors realize that they were wholly naleed; through that realization each of theet choose something that can be worn as a cloth to cover their shame. They then took "ai loing" (leaves) to cover their bodies, formed a group later on and Galled themselves: Alune tribe. The other, who took the "ai. wemale" (bark of the wemale tree), formed another group and Galled themselves: Wemale tribe.

In Talamenasiwa our ancestors developed into five generations. After these five

generations (together with the preceding nine generations adding up to fourteen) our ancestors manifested themselves as a nation.

A nation with its own rules for living, which have become a heritage for our present day society, and have also become the basis of our nationalism.

After the development into the Talamenasiwa a conflict arose which was Galled "Risa Siwa'Rima", meaning: "War between Kinsfolk". This led to the development of a foren of sovereignty, Galled "Sama'Suru" by our ancestors. Sama'Suru means: "to divide in order to function".

Through these developments our ancestors have spread over the whole of the thousand isles of Maluku. Maluku this is our inheritance.

Nunusaku is a protection given to our ancestors by God through Natune. The name is composed from the word "Nonie": Holy Fig tree, and "n'Saku": Mg Protection.

(d) Sama'Suru: Sovereignty.

The right meaning of SAMA'SURU is: "distribution of functions" and/or "distri­buted to function". The functions, that are traditional in our Adat society, are among others the three basic powers in a democratic aristocratic type state.

These powers are:

• Legislative Power (saniri)
• Executive Power (Latu Patty)
• Juridical Power (Upu Hena/Latu Nusa)

In the period of Sama'Suru the MORIALE/Macro Natio fell apart into Henaja (many Hena = many villages). Every Hena arose as a polis (village republic), which was free and sovereign, with a governing system according to the Adat, as mentioned above. .

This situation of our Henaja is comparable with the polissen in Ancient Greece. The three basic powers of a state (Trias Politica), put forward by Montesquieu in the period preceding the French Revolution, and nowadays put into practice by democratic states as well as by constitutional monarchies, existed already as a basic in our Adat system since ancient times.

In the Sama'Suru era our ancestors were Galled upon to establish their nature and identity as a nation on this Barth. After the achievement of the integrity of the Moluccas, the Moluccas thus having become our hereditary ground, the potion "MENA'MURIA" was introduced. This way we became a people, regional as well as national, that meets the requirements of independence and sovereignty.

(e) Mena'Muria.

MENA'MURIA is our national watchword which indicates that Siwa'Rima exists from ancient times on as an independent and sovereign people, living on her own rightful ground. Symbolically Mena'Muria means.: "ready from stem to stern", like a ship fully equipped for the journey moving on the sea defying all kinds of winds, currents and storms. This symbolic meaning expresses our existence as a nation with all its material and spiritual riches. It also prepares us for the coming events that are to happen, before we reach our goal.

Literally Mena'Muria means: "Alif & Ja" _ "thé Beginning and the End". This second meaning contains an instinctive subjection to that one Power that has given to us our grounds as our rightful inheritance. Mena'Muria is an exalted word that obliges us pot to get entangled in the faith in obscure powers, but just to keep clinging to that one Almighty. Who han been from the beginning. We are therefore convinced that, though our people in the course of time han been separated and scattered, time will bring us back together with the help only of that one Power, who has said: "I'm the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega", or: MENA'MURIA.