Sprouting History

KOMPAS/NINUK MARDIANA PAMBUDY

Kahatola Waterfall, Loloda Archipelago, West Halmahera.

History, as a philosophical reflection, is an effort by humankind to maintain its legacy in this ever-changing world. History is a tale of humankind’s sparkling achievements and also its darkest hours of brutality. History allows humans to reflect and look at both the best and worst versions of themselves. History is not only about origins, but also stories of victories, losses and extinctions.

There is not much left from the history of the Loloda Kingdom in North Maluku. A long time ago, Loloda was a wealthy kingdom with territories covering Halmahera and Morotai. Most of the information on the Maluku Sultanate or Moloku Kie Raha only consists of Ternate, Tidore and Jailolo. So, what about Loloda?

Through historians’ efforts, the mystery behind the Loloda Sultanate\'s disappearance has slowly been unveiled (Abd Rahman: 2019). The Loloda Sultanate once existed for 900 years. Locals call it Kolano Loloda. The struggle of this last sultanate or Kolano Madogada has been passed on from generation to generation through folk songs.

The story tells of the heroism of a captain named Sikuru, who defended the Lolodan people from the pain of forced labor and taxation by the colonial government. The 1908 rebellion led by Captain Sikuru ended in a bitter defeat. Kolano Syamsuddin, along with its family, was banished to Ternate while the Loloda Sultanate was destroyed.

Excavation on the history, culture and tradition of Loloda is part of the Lolodan people’s desire to understand their own identity.

Mustafa Mansur, a young man from Loloda, spoke about the Lolodan people\'s concern and collective efforts to revive the Kolano Loloda. He explained that these efforts should not be interpreted as a mere revival of the traditional structure as a cultural symbol. Far more than that, for the Lolodan people, this is their political way to fight to get their voice out (Tommy Christomy: 2020).

Mustafa Mansur described the history of environmental degradation, including in Dama village, Doi Island, in the Loloda Island area. The locals on this tiny island have become the witnesses to natural exploitation from manganese mining since 1952.

Regardless of the power shift from the Old Order, New Order, to the Reform era, the Lolodan people are still trapped in environmental degradation. They mentioned the saying, “kehidupan yang sengsara di atas sengsara” (miserable life over miseries). After the mine was closed, they independently rehabilitated the environment and the marine habitats to recover the local fishery ecosystem that had been polluted by the mine waste disposal.

The unveiling of Lolodan history as an abandoned history through a post-structuralism critical approach is called rhizomatic historical tracing. The rhizome is the word used by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, two French philosophers, to describe the stems that stick out beneath the surface and make ways for new sprouts to emerge.

The re-emergence of kolano is not only about sentimental restoration of tradition but a form of social breakthrough and a way of protesting against the injustice that they have experienced.

Deleuze and Guattari borrow the botanical term to explain a philosophical theory that supposes the rhizome spread as a process of a new social movement to create a variety of new social awareness. The re-emergence of kolano is not only about sentimental restoration of tradition but a form of social breakthrough and a way of protesting against the injustice that they have experienced.

The Lolodan people believe that the origin of kolano is closely connected to magical elements. Kolano, in this sense, shapes human history that is associated with nature. Under this perspective, humanity is always under the influence of magical power beyond its control. This supernatural power is embodied in many things, from the wind direction, animals, trees, mountains, rivers, to the sea.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

World War II Museum on Morotai Island, North Maluku.

Traditional historiographical analysis places myths in the Lolodan culture as a reality created by emotional and spiritual perceptiveness. The first kolano was believed to come from the incarnation of a white parrot (Gatala Bobudo). For the Lolodan people, the white parrot symbolizes the bearer of good news (Mansur: 2007). Semiotically, kolano as a symbol can be interpreted as a ray of hope for Lolodan people to reach happiness and welfare.

University of Indonesia history professor Susanto Zuhdi underlined the importance of understanding oral tradition to understand history. Oral history in the Nusantara tradition often depicts ordinary people\'s day-to-day experience, particularly their relations to nature. This daily life narrative is different from how history is often seen as a major event that involves political and ideological struggle.

Kompas

Saras Dewi

Susanto Zuhdi explained the conversation about history and the dialectics of history as an individual and unique experience with a common or universal history. He stressed the importance of prioritizing elements from the history of local people in Indonesian historiography. The purpose of understanding this history is to critically examine the existing problems, including social inequality and environmental crisis.

The re-creation of kolano in the Lolodan context should be understood as their way to imagine themselves amid the hardships and disappointment in the existing social institutions. Their history grows from the broken pieces that stood out from behind the ruins.

Saras Dewi, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Indonesia