Determining the Birth Date of Ternate Part III

Barjaha 9

III. HISTORY

1. The Time Concept

Scientifically speaking,history could be said as a study of human in time dimension. Time is the crucial dimension in historical studies,yet it becomes less crucial in social and other humanities studies. But the fact is, the concept of time is different according to each culture. In westren civilization, time in history is seen as chronology or linear forward movement (not the same as in the scientific sense). In Ternate culture and the eastren Indonesia in general (which actually covers the pasific world also), there are two different time concepts first, time as "cyclical motion" or movements forming a circle as if things happens repeatedly time and again. Secondly, time in the sense of "episodic time" or time being segmented araound certain personalities. Both concepts are different but overlapping.

In the manuscripts of the history of Ternate above, time as "cyclical motion" was demonstrated by the "four pillars" (later know as "Maluku Kie Raha") and the dualism "patalima and patasiwa." The manifestation of time in the sense of "episodic time" in those manuscripts relied on famous or charismatic personalities, without chronology (in westrrn meaning of the word).

If we take Valentijn's version (which was actually based on a manuscript written in Ternate in the 17th century(, the "cyclical motion" could be seen in the four "momoles" who founded the Ternate Kingdom,they were Momole Guna who lived in Tobona,Momole molo ma-titi who lived in Foramadiahi, Momole Cico who lived in Sampalo, and another momole whose name was not mentioned, but, according to valentijn,could very possibly lived in Takome. The fact tha Mamole cico who was later crowned as "kolano",manifested the patalima spirit. In the manuscript,written by Valentijn, the cyclical repetition of the "four pillars" concept could be seen in goverment hierarchy,social structure,and etcetera.

The important "Episodic time" from Valentijn's version was the crowning of Cico as the kolano of Ternate island, the journey of Gapi Baguna and Zainal Abidin to Malay (Malacca) and Java then embraced Islam, etcetera. The fact that the two time concepts,cyclical and episodic,are overlapping each other is apparent in the fact of the re-emergence of the Cico tale and the "four pillars".

Rather different from manuscript used by Valentjn,in the manuscripts of Ternate history written in the 19th century,the "cyclical motion" of the "four pillars" is "Maluku Kie Raha" (Ternate,Tidore, Bacan and Jailolo), yet centered on Jafar Sadek (thus also forms the Patalima). "Four pillars" also repets itself in the goverment structure,social structure,even in daily lives.

If the order of "for pillars" fell short or distored (in other word,if the society was in decline),there would be a process of recovery until the "for pillars" re-ordered itself.

An example from Tidore,on the attempt to recover the distored "four pillars" was the rebellion of Nuku (Katoppo) or the rebellion in Gamrange (Leirissa).

In Ternate, recovery of the distored "four pillars" (by colonialsm) was done mythically in the writing of history in the 19th century (the above manuscirpts). To be Contuined Part IV.............

(Leirissa)