PEOPLES OF EASTERN INDONESIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85-00671R000200070001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 198
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 27, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 1, 1965
• Content Type: REPORT

Research Report No. 5 February 1965
lease 1999/09/24: CIA-RDP85-00671 R000200070001-4
RETIRED FILE
JOB95-0O4c7LR
BOXo FOLDER Q1 a..
DESENSITIZED
PEOPLES OF EASTERN
INDONESIA
25X1A8a
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Research Report No. 5 February 1965
PEOPLES OF EASTERN
INDONESIA
25X1A8a
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction.
II. General Factors in Eastern Indonesia. .
A. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B. Racial Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Attitudes .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
D. Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F. Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G. Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
H. Village and. Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
J. Advice to Foreign Visitors. . . . . . . . .
III. Lesser Sundas and Timor . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. Bali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ? ?
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Ethnic Groups . . . . . . . . . . . .
b. Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . .
c. Attitudes toward Outsiders. . . . . .
d.. Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
e, Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ?
f. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
g. Health. . . . . . . . . . . . .
h. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i. Caste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
j, Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3, Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ? ? ? .
a. Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
5. The Bali Agas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Tenganan . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ?
6. Advice to Foreign Visitors. . . . . . . .
3
4
5
7
7
8
8
9
9
11
14
14
15
15
17
18
19
20
20
21
21
24
26
26
29
29
32
32
34
B, Lombok Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
a, Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . 38
b. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2. Villages and. Houses . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3. Language and Literacy . . . . . . . . . . 38
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
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C. Sumbawa Island . x , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1. People. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Characteristics , , , . . . . . , , .
b. Languages ... , , , , , , , , , , , ,
C. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Occupations , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3. Villages , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4. Organization , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
a. Extra-Village , . , , , , . , , .
b. Inter-Village . . . , . . . . . . . .
c. Widening Horizons , , , , , ,
d. Civil Organization, , , , , , , , ,
e. The Village Union , , , ,
f. Junior Members of the Civil
Government, , , ,
g. District Head. , , , , , ,
h. Village Organization, ,
i. Authority -- Two Spheres.
5. Rarak -- A Sumbawan Village ,
a. Houses , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
b. The Dry Season , , , . , , , , , ,
C. The Wet Season . . , , , ,
6. Visitors. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
52
53
53
54
54
55
56
56
58
D. Flores Island , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 59
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
a. Characteristics , , , , , , , , , , , 62
b. Religion, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2. Villages and, Houses , , , , , , , , . , , 64
a. Organization, , , , , , , , , , 64
b. Land. Tenure , , , , , , , , , , , , , 66
3. Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4. Burial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5. Occupations , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 66
E. Sumba Island, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
1. People, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
a. Characteristics . . . . . . 69
b. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
C. Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2. Villages and Houses , , , , , , , . , , , 69
3. Occupations , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 71
F. Solor and, Alor Archipelagoes,
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Solor Island., . , , , , , , , , . , ,
3. Adonara Island, , . ,
4. Lomblen Island., , , . . , , , , , , , ,
5. Pantar Island. , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
6, Alor Island , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
71
71
73
73
74
74
76
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a. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
b. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
C. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
d. The Five-Village District . . . . . . 81
(1). The Villages. . . . . . . . . . 81
(2). Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
(3). Occupations . . . . . . . . . . 83
(4). Financial Management. . . . . . 83
(5). Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
(6). Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . 84
(7);- Growth. and Development
of the Child. . . . . . 85
(8). Adolescence, Marriage
and Sex . . . . . . . . 86
(9). Personality Determinants
in Alorese Culture. . . 87
e. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
G. Timor Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ? ? '
1. Timor Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1). Organization. . . . . . . . . .
(2), Characteristics . . . . . . .
(3). Language and Education. . . . .
b. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1). Houses . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2). Family Life . . . . . . . . .
d. Occupations . . . . . . . . ? . . .
e. Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
f. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Roti Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Ndao Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Sawu Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
89
90
97
98
100
101
105
105
108
109
112
115
116
116
116
117
118
119
B. Barat Daja Archipelago. . . . . . . . . . . . 121
1. Wetar Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
a. People. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
b. Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
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2. Romang Island. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
3. Damar Group , 123
a. Damar Island. . . . . . . . . . . 123
b. Teun, Nila, andSerua. . , , , , , . 124
C. Banda Archipelago, . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
a. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . 126
b, Cultural Factors . . . . . . . . . . 126
2. Villages and Housing . . . . . . . . . . 127
3. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
D. Kisar Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
a. Oirata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
b. Cultural Factors . . . . . . . . . . 129
3? Villages and. Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 129
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 130
E. Leti Archipelago (Leti, Moa, and
Lakor) . . . . . . . . . . 130
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
3. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 132
4, Occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
F. Sermata Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
3. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
G. Babar Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . .
b. Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . .
3, Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
134
135
135
135
135
135
136
H. Tanimbar Archipelago , , . , . , , , . , , , 136
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
3. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 138
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4. Occupations.
5. Visitors . .
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138
138
I. Aru Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
1. General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 140
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
J. Kai (Ewab) Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . 141
1. People . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 142
2. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 143
3. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4, Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
K. Wautubela Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
2. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
3. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
L. Gorong Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
1. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
2. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
3. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
M. Ceram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
a. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . 148
b, Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
C. Language and Education . . . . . . . 150
d, Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
3. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 151
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
N. Amboina Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. General.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . .
b, Language . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c. Religion . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Villages and Village Organization.
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
153
153
154
154
157
157
157
157
159
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0. Manipa, Kelang, and. Boano Islands. . . . . . 159
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
P. Buru and, Ambelau Islands.-.... . . . . . . . . 159
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
a. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . 162
b. Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
C. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
d.. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
3. Villages and. Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 163
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Q. Sula Archipelago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
3. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
R. Obi Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
3. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Bat jan Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
167
167
167
168
168
168
T. Ternate-Tidore Group . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
1. Ternate and Tidore Islands . . . . . . . 169
a. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
b. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
6. Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
d. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
2. Other Islands of the Ternate-
Ti.d.ore Group. . . . . . . . . 172
a. Mare Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
b. Moti Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
C. Makian Island . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
d. Kajoa Islands. . . . . . . . . . . . 173
U. Halmahera and Morotai 173
1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
2. People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
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a. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 174
b. Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . 177
C. Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
d.. Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
3. Villages and Houses. . . . . . . . . . . 180
4. Occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5. Visitors . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Lombok: Ethnic Groups - 50669 39
Pulau Alor: Ethnic Groups - 50668. . . . . . . . . . 77
Timor Languages and. Indonesian Timor:
Ethnic Groups- 50672 . . . . . . . . 91
Wetar: Ethnic Groups - 70670 . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Indonesia: Islands East of Java - 50671. . . . . . . (back of
book)
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 25X1 B1 a
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Figure 1. Typical Balinese wood carving.
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"Eastern Indonesia" includes all the islands of the East
Indies Archipelago that lie east of the Greater Sundas (Java
and the six other large islands), except Irian Barate For this
study, they will be grouped. as the Lesser Sundas and. Timor and.
the Moluccas.* The Southwestern Islands are treated. here as part
of the Moluccas because they were once a part of the far-flung
Malukan "Spice Sultanates" of Ternate and. Tid.ore 9 and whatever
slight political, commercial, or sociological orientation they
may have is in that direction.
The islands will be treated. from Bali eastward. to Timor,
then around, the Banda Sea along the double curve of the South-
western Islands, and, lastly northward, through M.ol,ucca to Halmahera.
(For a preview of island. groups and. island names, use the Table
of Contents.)
Eastern Indonesia accounts for 15 percent of the total land,
area of Indonesia (some 29000 islands according to the Indonesian
Government) and. 7 percent of the population, (1961 population,
estimate: Lesser Sundas 59558,0009 Molucca, 79090000) Popula-
tion density of the Lesser Sundas is 80 Snd. of Molucca 11 --
compared. to Java's 451 - per square kilometer, Population den-
sity would. be sharply lowered (and, more representative) if Bali's
1,700,000 were excluded.
Information about the peoples of these unnumbered islands is
thin, spotty, and. self-contrad.i.ctoryo Anthropologists, ethnolo-
gists, sociologists, and particularly statisticians are inclined
to give specifics on Java and perhaps some data on the other large
islands, but either avoid. mention of the eastern islands or gen-
eralize irresponsibly.** Accounts of travelers (botanists, zoolo-,
gists, and, collectors) have been useful, as they include a few
detailed. reports on a few specific villages.
* Gaps and. overlaps in the end.l ieg gnoapinks .and-,tbpoh.ymy (with
numerous spelling variations) make statistics and. other data in.
this area difficult to assess and apply. Place names have been
coordinated. with .Board on Geographic Names spellings.
** Most disturbing is the repetition - often verbatim and with-,
out acknowledgement - of statements from Wallace (1883), Webster
(1898), and. other early explorers,
3
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No attempt has been made to evaluate available information.
On the contrary, details from pertinent studies have been relayed,
at length and, where information is lacking or contradictory, the
lack or inconsistency has not been camouflaged.
Many of the smaller -m and. the interior of some of the larger
-- islands are uninhabited, or inhabited, only parts of the year.
Many East Indonesians have practically no contact with the out-
side world.
B. Racial Characteristics
It is said, that 130 separate East Indonesian tribes could.
be enumerated., many of them so large that they could, be called
nations or "people."* Most writers escape this dilemma by using
island, names (Wetarese, Kaians, etc.) even though there may be
many groups -m different and, sometimes antagonistic ?m on the
same island, e (Bernina and. Bruk, whose ethnic ma,p is a }na j or source
for this study, often do this.)
These islands form a transition zone, culturally, linguistically,
and, anthropologically, from Western Indonesia (Java) to Irian
Barat. From Bali to Timor the people are mainly proto-Malay, rep-
resenting early immigration from southeast Asia. They are like
the interior people of the large islands and, are less Mongoloid.
than the coastal people who are descendants of later immigrants
(d.eutero-Malay). They are shorter and. darker-skinned. with wavier
hair and, stockier physique, but they do not have a slant to the
eye or prominent cheek bones. Papuan traits begin to appear in
the Flores and, increase, though not in regular or dependable pro-
portion, as one moves eastward..
In the islands nearest Australia, the earliest people were
probably Australoid m- coarse-featured, beetle-browed. and, hairy-
bodied. Pre-Malay traces remain. Pure or almost pure Papuans
are found, in parts of Molucca and., of course, in Irian Barat9
Four other archaic types can be found. in eastern Indonesia.
(1) The Negroid, type has two branches. One, the Melanesian, is
* Kennedy, The Ageless Indies. The term "tribe" is a misnomer,
for in most of this area there is almost no intervillage (or
tribal) relationship and. no common culture as, for instance, there
is among the Dayaks of Borneo.
4
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tall and, spare-framed and has almost disappeared except in. Timor
and, in the Flores zone, The second, branch, the Negri.toes, are
dwarfish and. frail; traces of them are found in Timor and Alor
(as well as in Sumatra and New Guinea). (2) The so-called
Ved.d.oid. type are also dwarfish and frail (like the Negrito)
with brown skin, wavy hair, prognathous face, and receding chin
_- probably a stunted. version of Malay-Austroloid. mixture. This
type is found. in Ceram, and. traces of it occur in a few other
islands. (3) The Papuan type is probably a hybrid of the Mela-
nesian and. Negroid races, It is characterized. by a lanky, long
limbed body, dark skin, narrow and angular face, thin lips, long
nose, hairy body, frizzy head-hair, and., frequently, by beards,
Sometimes the nose is fleshy and. hooked. and. has been called Semitic.
(4) The Alfur type is a mixture of Papuan and. proto-ioluccA*.
Alfurs are common in Mblucca and. also occur in other of these
islands.
In addition there are Chinese, Arab, and. other foreign 'traders.
Immigration -? or rather drift, for there has been no official
movement of groups -- is continuous, especially of Buginese, Mak-
assarese, Minahaoese, and Javanese, It is estimated. (1963) that
there are 20,000 Javanese in the Moluccas alone. Eastward from
Java, a gradual, but not regular, change of character from the
reserved Malay to the excitable, vociferous, and. less-restrained
Papuan is marked. Kennedy says in Inlands and. Peoples of the Indies
that the difference is probably not biological but due to diver-
gent training and, rules of behavior. In general the eastern
islanders are friendly, helpful, and. courteous. In many islands
they are gay, devoted 'to dancing for exhibition, and. hospitable,
C. Attitudes
The greatest gap in information is about the native's poli-
tical attitudes. For most of the people on these tiny islands,
national politics has little or no meaning. The government, both
before and. after the revolution, has done little or nothing for
them but has always required taxes, Since 'the village chief,
acting for a native rajah, has been the collector for both gov-
ernments, political change is hardly noticeable,
T----Casual writers frequently use "Alfuur" to mean all those 'who
have preserved their pagan beliefs, This troublesome definition
is not used. he:re0
** Tax rolls which should clarify population and, other statistics
simply muddle them. Not understanding the purposes of taxes, the
people misrepresent size of their family (a large family is a sym-
bol of wealth), the amount of income, and, even many items that
would. not affect the tax,
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On some islands nativistic movements, organized, to revive or
perpetuate certain aspects of aboriginal culture (and. encouraged
by the Dutch for divisive purposes), may serve as a barrier against
Western culture and. the new Western-oriented. Djakarta intelligentsia.
On islands where the Dutch used. severe methods, the attitude of
the people toward, whites (to most Indonesians every white man. is
Belanda, Dutch) is likely to be unftiend.ly.* On other islands,
Dutch administration was negligible, acceptable, or even pleasant.
The same seems to be true of the present Indonesian Government.
But the latter has the advantage of appealing to the basic Indo-
nesian feelings of most of the people, even in the remotest is-
lands. "One people, one country, one language" exerts a great
force when and where it is propagated.
In those matters only 'the ajahs9, chiefs, and, their associ-
ates are interested.; but what the leaders understand., the people
understand. It is important to note that the native aristocracy
as we know it today belongs to the group who chose to adapt to
European masters. Such leaders became westernized were ual per-
sonality. ,hated. from the ii1d.ige:nous cu.l-tuye, deve3oping a sort-
But, of crucial importance, they meanwhile preserved
Indonesian culture among the people and, upheld the adat (common
law).**
At the present time the old. ruling class is having difficulty
fitting into the new political structure where the old, system of
class and privilege has disappeared. The Djakarta government often
assigns non-local, Western-educated. administrators who have not
developed. any administrative judgment and who have no idea how to
deal *i.th non-Western-oriented peoples to administrative posts,
For the native non-leaders the highly valued family life has
always been an authoritarian village structure, and the state, if
considered. at all, was imagined as an extended. family with a Big
Father. The present administration. blurred that image, Sukarno,
however, is so representative of the Indonesian ethnos, summing
* Sometimes the Dutch policy of non-interference broke down.
In Timor and Bali, for instance, military operations took the
form of punitive expeditions. In the second and. third. decades of
the 20th century, Dutch authority was harshly imposed on Sumba,
Lombok, Flores, Timor, and Ceram.
** Soemardjan, Selo (or Selosumardjan), "So:me Social and Cultural
Implications of Indonesia's Unplanned. and. Planned Development,
Review of politics, 1963.
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up their virtues as well as their shortcomings, that he is usually
received. as an even Grander Father. As time goes on9 he has become
more "sultan-like". Efforts are being made to spread, his name,
his picture, his military glory, and. his ambitions for the Indone-
sian peoples, but there is no indication that this propaganda has
reached, many, or any, of the smaller islands.
D. Languages
There are somewhat more than 200 languages spoken in these
islands. Little study has been done on them, and, they are not
satisfactorily classified., although various groupings have been
made. Probably the most useful here, since it is tied. to areas
rather than technical linguistics, is a division into five sub-
groups' - (1) Bali-Sumbawan9 spoken by Balinese, Sasaks9 and. Bod.has,
and, peoples of western Sumbawa; (2) Bima, spoken in eastern Sum?
bawa9 Sumba; and western Flores; (3) the Sula-Batjan Group; (4)
Ambon-Timor, which includes all the languages of otudca except;
(5) South Halmaheran9 a Papuan language spoken in south Halmahera
and, small nearby islands. Some of these languages are written;
and, in a few places 'they are used, to teach reading and. writing-.-.
The Ambon'Timor languages are strongly influenced. by Papuan.
Malay, or Bahasa Indonesia, is 'the trade language of most of
these islands. (Since Sukarno regards it as a prime unifying
device, it is being spread. as fast as slender means and, slight
attention can manage.) In Portuguese Timor the native Tetum language
is the official language. The few Europeans there speak Portuguese.
No pidgin is spoken in Eastern Ind.onesia:o
E. Education
Information about education on specific islands is not avail-
able.* Mission schools continue to operate and. are planning -to
widen their operations,
Modkherj i ("Problems of Education in Southeast Asia".. Eastern
World., 1962) reports that Indonesia has raised, literacy from
* The Statist.'cal Pocketbook of Indonesia (Bire Pusat Statistic,
Djakarta, 196?T reports for Nusa Tenggara: 2,042 schools, 99100
teachers, 3359000 pupils in primary schools, 12,500 pupils in gen-
eral secondary schools, and. 154 libraries with 67,000 books. Mal-
uca.and Irian Barat as reported. together have: 570 schools, 19800
teachers, 68,000 pupils in primary schools,,A .560in general secon-
dary schools, and. 223 libraries with 22,000 books. No clue is given
as to location or type of school,
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6,4 percent to 66 percent in ten years. He says the colonial
education policy was to create a small class of "colonial elites"
-- not to provide incentive for or growth of nationalism, but to
insure a steady supply of low-paid., white-collar workers for gov-
ernment and, semi-government establishments. Help given to outer-
island, education by the Djakarta government is inspired, by polit-
ical expediency and. is for that reason spotty.
Results of education have not always been satisfactory.
Kennedy says that here, "Where life depends upon tradition, Europ-
eanized, education tends to disinherit the young from the tradi-
tions and. put nothing in its place," The conversation of a recent
American visitor with Pandi, artist and, member of the Bali confirms'
this dilemma. He said, We are creating the first juvenile delin
quents Indonesia has ever known. When a boy gets the kind of ed-
ucation we are giving him, he is not willing to go back to his
village and help with the farming. He expects a white-collar --
preferably a Government -- job. We don't have the jobs. He is
not prepared, for such jobs. We must change the character of our
education or manage to create jobs for our educated, youth,"
The costume for men, is sometimes a loin-cloth but usually is a
sarong, sometimes worn with a shoulder or upper-body piece and. some-
times not. Western shirts are often seen on men of the larger towns
or villages, "Malay shorts" are common for boys and. are often worn
by men of shore villages. The men wear a headgear, mostly on
special occasions,
Women wear kains (lengths of cloth wrapped. as skirts) and
usually something above the waist, such as a kobaja (a jacket-
blouse) or a cloth wrapped. underarms, Both men and women carry
a small wallet for their betel, money, and other valuables.
Jewelry -- earrings, rings, necklaces, and sometimes anklets and
feather decorations - are worn for special occasions by both men
and, women.
Tatooing is practiced, in nearly every island. except Bali and
Lombok. In some of the islands of Molucca, scars are burned, or
cut into the flesh, In the Kais, the Babars, and. Tanimbar, hair
is often bleached, with lime.
G. Weapons
In most of these islands the bow is the important weapon.
(Exceptions: Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Sawu, eastern Wetar,
Buru, and Sula, and. some of the smaller Southwestern Island.8