 Moluccan marriage, bride in traditional dress (circa 1960) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2.5 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia: 2,203,415 (2010 census)[1](Maluku, North Maluku, Jakarta, East Java, North Sulawesi, West Papua)  Netherlands: ~70,000 (2018 census)[2] | |
| 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[3] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Austronesians, Melanesians, Papuan people, Malagasy peoples |
Moluccans are the Austronesian-speaking and Papuan-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the Maluku Islands (also called the Moluccas), Eastern Indonesia. The region was historically known as the Spice Islands,[4] 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 Islam with Christianity 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.[5] 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.[6][7]
A small population of Moluccans (~50.000+[8]) 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.[8]
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.[9]
- ^ "Kewarganegaraan, Suku Bangsa, Agama, Dan Bahasa Sehari-Hari Penduduk Indonesia". Badan Pusat Statistik. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ "Molukkers in Nederland". CBS.
- ^ "Admin Templates - Dashboard Templates".
- ^ "INVASION OF AMBON". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). 23 October 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ van Engelenhoven, Gerlov (1 July 2021). "From Indigenous Customary Law to Diasporic Cultural Heritage: Reappropriations of Adat Throughout the History of Moluccan Postcolonial Migration". International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique. 34 (3): 695–721. doi:10.1007/s11196-020-09781-y. hdl:1887/3134516. ISSN 1572-8722. S2CID 224961575.
- ^ "Ambon". UNESCO Cities of Music. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ "Admin Templates - Dashboard Templates".
- ^ a b Beets et al., Demografische ontwikkeling van de Molukse bevolkingsgroep in Nederland
- ^ Handoko, Wuri (2024). "Asal-Usul Masyarakat Maluku, Budaya dan Persebarannya". Kapata Arkeologi (in Indonesian). Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 30 August 2024.