Mangole's Animism

The term Maluku originally referred to the four centers of the Kingdom/palace in North Maluku, namely Ternate, Tidore, Bacan, and Jailolo. At one time, it was widely accepted that the term came from Arabic, with its original form estimated as jaziratul muluk, which means the territory of many Kings. Mountains as a symbol of the Kingdom were also common in the past, especially in Java and Sumatra.

How was the condition of this region several centuries ago, especially during the emporium-empire? There has been no in-depth and accurate research. On islands that can be said to be large, such as Halmahera, Morotai, Obi, Taliabu, Seram, Buru, Aru, and Tanimbar, there are also relatively large lowlands. In the Sula Islands, there are several ethnic groups, such as the Mangole tribe.

The third dialect is fagudu, used in other villages in Sulawesi and on the eastern & western ends of Manole Island. Since the mid-20th century, the population of the ethnic group has experienced a rapid decline and was reduced to about 800 people in the early 21st century. Already in the late 18th century, most of the local population identified themselves not by their ancestral ethnicity, but as a separate people group, whose name was adopted from the name of the bay and the largest settlement established on its coast.

The presence among the ancestors of the tribal nobility and interaction with the Dutch colonial government resulted in the special position of the Kayeli for the following centuries, claiming the role of the indigenous elite on the island. In terms of religion, the majority of the Kayeli people are Sunni Muslims, with remnants of local animist beliefs. Among them, there are remnants of pre-Islamic animist belief systems, but to a much lesser extent than among other ethnic groups on the island.

Pray for the customs and religious practices of the tribe that are tied to animism so that they realize that it is only a deception of the evil one, leading them away from the truth.