Moluccans
Moluccans men performing the traditional Cakalele dance, carrying the parang salawaku (Maluku sword and shield). | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2.5 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Indonesia: 2,203,415 (2010 census) (Maluku, North Maluku, Jakarta, East Java, North Sulawesi, West Papua) Netherlands: ~70,000 (2018 census) | |
| Languages | |
| Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages, North Halmahera languages, North Moluccan Malay, Ambonese Malay, Indonesian, Dutch | |
| Religion | |
| Majority Sunni Islam Minority Christianity (Protestantism (Moluccan Evangelical Church and Protestant Church of Maluku) and Roman Catholicism), Hinduism, Animism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Austronesians, Melanesians, Papuan people, Malagasy peoples |
Moluccans are the Melanesian-Austronesian and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas). The region was historically known as the Spice Islands, and today consists of two Indonesian provinces of Maluku and North Maluku. As such, "Moluccans" is used as a blanket term for the various ethnic and linguistic groups native to the islands.
Majority follow Christianity with Islam being the second major religion of most Moluccans. Despite religious differences, all groups share strong cultural bonds and a sense of common identity, such as through Adat. Music is also a binding factor, playing an important role in the cultural identity, and the Moluccan capital city of Ambon was awarded the official status of City of Music by UNESCO in 2019.
A small population of Moluccans (~50.000+) live in the Netherlands. This group mainly consists of the descendants of soldiers in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), who were originally brought to the Netherlands temporarily, and would have been sent back to their own independent republic, had the Dutch government not given up control of Indonesia. They and others in the world make up the Moluccan diaspora. The remainder consists of Moluccans serving in the Dutch navy and their descendants, as well as some who came to the Netherlands from western New Guinea after it too was handed over to Indonesia.
However, the vast majority of Moluccans still live in the Moluccas and the other surrounding regions, such as Papua, East and West Timor, North Sulawesi and further west.