The Sula people (Sula: Matapia Sua)[1] are an ethnic group of Austronesian people living in the Sula Islands (especially in Sanana) in the province of North 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 as Yafai Gareha;[3] but also related to or even part of the same ethnic group as the Taliabu 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 the Sultanate of Ternate; it was then that the Sula people found themselves within the cultural sphere of the northern Moluccas.[2]
History
The islands include Mangole (Mangon), Taliabu, and Sanana, which are located in the geographical center of Maluku Islands. Most of the population are immigrants who do not speak Sula, which is from Sulawesi. In terms of consumption, although kat (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 the Sula language (incl. Mangole language), a Malayo-Polynesian language in the Austronesian 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 of New Guinea and nearby islands along with other Melanesians are the ancestors of the Sula people. Much of the vocabulary of the language appears to be non-Austronesian. However, more recent waves of immigration are responsible for much of the Sula language and culture; and this is certainly an Austronesian expansion.[5]
The latest migration of the Sula people has also settled in several villages along the southern coast of Taliabu 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. The Central 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]
Population
The absolute number of estimated Sula people population in each districts in the regencies of Sula Islands and Taliabu Island, based on population census data from the Central Statistics Agency (2016 and 2018 census) of Sula Islands Regency. The numbers are as follows:[5]
Central Mangoli: 6,112
East Mangoli: 4,870
North East Mangoli: 4,311
West Mangoli: 401
North Mangoli: 1,123
South Mangoli: 5,216
West Taliabu: 3,000
South Taliabu 3,000
Tabona: 1,500
South East Taliabu: 2,000
West Sulabesi: 5,364
South Sulabesi: 4,782
Sanana: 23,060
Central Sulabesi: 6,317
East Sulabesi: 3,522
North Sanana: 5,533
From the data, the number of Sula people is 80,111 people in the Sula Islands and Taliabu Island.[5]
Languages
They speak Sula (incl. Mangole), with the regional language Ternate also spoken.[2] The local variety of Sula Malay[id] is a mixture of Ambonese Malay and North Moluccan Malay which has become the lingua franca; while Ternate was the previous administrative language.[6] Sula Malay is the dominant means of communication in urban areas,[7] also known is Indonesian, although at least it is different from standard Indonesian.[2]
Sula is still often spoken in remote, sparsely populated villages. However, in Sanana, it is often spoken among older adults.[5]
Religion
Most of the Sula people (and their relatives) adhere to Sunni Islam, some adhere to Protestantism, 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 of Mangole and Taliabu, then all of them are Muslim.[8]
Society
Clans
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 from Maluku Islands, the Sula people also still add family name after a person's name, some surnames include Marsaoly, Sangadji, and Umagapi.[10]
Famous figures
The Sula people, like most other ethnic groups, also have Indonesian independence fighters, for example, Ismail Sahjuan Sangadji (afterward known as Ismail Digoel) who was exiled by the Dutch colonial government together with the proclaimer of independence and the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, in Boven Digoel.[8]
Customary areas
The Sula people generally dominate two islands in the archipelago, namely Sanana (Sulabesi) and Mangole (Mangole); where ethnically it is also generally divided into the Sanana (Sula-Sanana) and Mangon (Mangole). Mangon is the Sula endonym for the Mangon 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 the Sula) 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 (including Taliabu). 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]
Livelihood and daily consumption
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 of Taliabu, the Taliabu 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]
Culture
Musical and dance folklore developed; folk instruments include the gong and the drum, as well as dances, for example the belayai dance from Fatkauyon village.[12] Elements of traditional beliefs (shamanism, fortune telling, spells, the use of amulets) play a significant role.[2] The arts and culture of the Sula people include gambus, ronggeng gala, silat, baka yab hai (stamping feet on the ground) when welcoming guests, lom poa du hoi (baku bantu in Sula 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 by Arab and Javanese culture – in addition to other local Maluku cultures. For example, the motto Dad Hia Ted Sua of the Sula people is the same as the national motto of Indonesia Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (lit.'different but we are still one'), which is influenced by Javanese culture (which is absorbed from Sanskrit) and the lom poa du hoi culture which is the same as the gotong royong (mutual cooperation) culture. Arabic influences, for example, the word 'back' in the Sula language is called alif, which is the first letter in the Arabic alphabet and the gambus art clearly shows the influence of Islam.[8]
† indicates an extinct ethnic groups or one that no longer has a population
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