Matapia Sua[1] | |
|---|---|
 Four Sula men with small long shields and spears inSanana, between March 1899 and February 1900. | |
| Total population | |
| 85,000[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Indonesia (North Maluku) | |
| Languages | |
| Sula (incl.Mangole),Sula Malay [id], andIndonesian | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (majority),Christianity, and native beliefs | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Taliabu • Mangole • Bacan • Buru |
TheSula people (Sula:Matapia Sua)[1] are anethnic group ofAustronesian people living in theSula Islands (especially inSanana) in the province ofNorth Maluku, Indonesia. They are divided into several ethnic groups or sometimes clans (soa), namely the Fagudu, Falahu, Fatcei, and Mangon (Mangole) who are collectively known asYafai Gareha;[3] but also related to or even part of the same ethnic group as theTaliabu people. Their total population is 85,000, of which 50,000 are the Sanana or the Sula-Sanana.[2]
The Sula Islands is sometimes mentioned as one of the least explored corners of Indonesia.[4] From the 15th to the 20th century, the islands were part of theSultanate of Ternate; it was then that the Sula people found themselves within the cultural sphere of the northern Moluccas.[2]
The islands includeMangole (Mangon),Taliabu, andSanana, which are located in the geographical center ofMaluku Islands. Most of the population are immigrants who do not speak Sula, which is fromSulawesi. In terms of consumption, althoughkat (taro) grows wild around populated areas, it is not known to be consumed, or as part of local cuisine. It is possible that ancient Sula people may have eaten it, but it is no longer eaten.[5]
The Sula people are speakers of theSula language (incl.Mangole language), aMalayo-Polynesian language in theAustronesian language family, and the Sula people have distinctive Austronesian cultural characteristics. It is likely that half the records may mean half literally; the coastal populations ofNew Guinea and nearby islands along with otherMelanesians are the ancestors of the Sula people. Much of the vocabulary of the language appears to benon-Austronesian. However, more recent waves of immigration are responsible for much of the Sula language and culture; and this is certainly anAustronesian expansion.[5]
The latest migration of the Sula people has also settled in several villages along the southern coast ofTaliabu with an unspecified population of the Sula people, but quite a large one lives on Taliabu. Additionally, very few Sula people live in other parts of the island. TheCentral Statistics Agency of Sula Islands Regency does not count the population based on ethnic background. In contrast, it only estimates that "about half" of the population in the southern part of Taliabu is the Sula people; the estimation of sufficient numbers can be questioned.[5]
The absolute number of estimated Sula people population in each districts in the regencies ofSula Islands andTaliabu Island, based on population census data from theCentral Statistics Agency (2016 and 2018 census) of Sula Islands Regency. The numbers are as follows:[5]
From the data, the number of Sula people is 80,111 people in the Sula Islands and Taliabu Island.[5]
They speakSula (incl.Mangole), with the regional languageTernate also spoken.[2] The local variety ofSula Malay [id] is a mixture ofAmbonese Malay andNorth Moluccan Malay which has become thelingua franca; while Ternate was the previous administrative language.[6] Sula Malay is the dominant means of communication in urban areas,[7] also known isIndonesian, although at least it is different from standard Indonesian.[2]
Sula is still often spoken in remote, sparsely populated villages. However, inSanana, it is often spoken among older adults.[5]
Most of the Sula people (and their relatives) adhere toSunni Islam, some adhere toProtestantism, and some still adhere to their original animist beliefs.[2] However, if we only include the four ethnic groups in Sula (Yafai Gareha), without including the related ethnic groups from the islands ofMangole andTaliabu, then all of them areMuslim.[8]
The Sula people is divided into four clans (soa), each clan is led by a person called a priest (imam).[9] The following are the four clans in the Sula people:
Similar to other ethnic groups fromMaluku Islands, the Sula people also still addfamily name after a person's name, some surnames include Marsaoly, Sangadji, and Umagapi.[10]
The Sula people, like most other ethnic groups, also haveIndonesian independence fighters, for example, Ismail Sahjuan Sangadji (afterward known as Ismail Digoel) who was exiled by theDutch colonial government together with the proclaimer of independence and the first president of Indonesia,Sukarno, inBoven Digoel.[8]
The Sula people generally dominate two islands in the archipelago, namelySanana (Sulabesi) andMangole (Mangole); where ethnically it is also generally divided into the Sanana (Sula-Sanana) and Mangon (Mangole). Mangon is the Sula endonym for theMangon people (or Mangole) and is also the name of one of the oldest villages on the island and the name of the island itself. The island is also referred to in both spoken and written terms Mangole and Mangoli. Although these terms may initially appear to be exonyms, they probably represent two variations of the initial endonym ⟨l⟩ then shifted to ⟨n⟩ and the final vowel was dropped in some dialects and then the pronunciation, Mangon, spread. Since the forms Mangole and Mangoli are recorded in many official records, the terms have not completely disappeared from use, and all three forms are now in common use. It is unclear whether the name Sanana is an exonym or an endonym. However, it refers to the main administrative town in the region as well as the island on which it is located, on the island also known as Sula, Sua, or Sulabesi.[11]
The Sula people consists of four sub-groups, namely the Falahu, Fagudu, Fatcei (the three are grouped into Sanana or Sula-Sanana), and Mangon (or Mangole). According to local folklore, the first three groups originally settled on Sanana Island, while the fourth group, the Mangon, settled on Mangon (Mangole) Island. The physical separation of the islands is likely the main reason for the separation of the Sanana (better known as theSula) and Mangon (Mangole) dialects. Since their initial settlement, the Mangon people have settled in two additional areas on Sanana Island, a settlement in the area that later became the urban area of Sanana (this settlement was also confusingly known as Mangon village) and a village called Malbufa, on the northern part of the island's west coast. The Malbufa variety in Sanana Island is very different from the other Sanana varieties; however, the Mangon settlement in Sanana appears to have adopted a dialect that is a distinctive Sanana variety. The Sanana people have also settled in many villages throughout the archipelago (includingTaliabu). The oldest villages outside Sanana Island are probably the Fatcei settlements of Capalulu, Wai U, and Orifola on Mangon (Mangole) Island, where contact dialects appear to have developed. Other the Falahu and the Fagudu villages were also established on Taliabu Island and along the southern coast of Mangon (Mangole).[11]
The main occupation of the Sula people is manual farming (root crops, bananas, various fruits, dry rice and corn), fishing and forest exploitation. On the island ofTaliabu, theTaliabu people who are related to the Sula people, the hunting and gathering lifestyle is still maintained for a longer time. The food is largely plant-based, based on sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas, sago (papeda gruel), on holidays – rice, poultry or goat meat.[2]
Musical and dance folklore developed; folk instruments include thegong and thedrum, as well as dances, for example thebelayai dance from Fatkauyon village.[12] Elements of traditional beliefs (shamanism, fortune telling, spells, the use ofamulets) play a significant role.[2] The arts and culture of the Sula people includegambus,ronggeng gala,silat,baka yab hai (stamping feet on the ground) when welcoming guests,lom poa du hoi (baku bantu inSula Malay [id];lit. 'mutual assistance') when children want to go to school or get married, and others.[8]
Judging from the language, art, culture, and character of the Sula people, it is likely that they are greatly influenced byArab andJavanese culture – in addition to other local Maluku cultures. For example, the mottoDad Hia Ted Sua of the Sula people is the same as the national motto of IndonesiaBhinneka Tunggal Ika (lit. 'different but we are still one'), which is influenced by Javanese culture (which is absorbed fromSanskrit) and thelom poa du hoi culture which is the same as thegotong royong (mutual cooperation) culture. Arabic influences, for example, the word 'back' in theSula language is calledalif, which is the first letter in theArabic alphabet and thegambus art clearly shows the influence of Islam.[8]