5. MATERIALES Y METODOS
6.1. RESULTADOS DE LAS ENCUESTAS
Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Initially Confucianism was also included, but in 1967 it was dropped from the list of recognized religions on the basis that it was a regional (Chinese) ethical doctrine rather than a religion. People had to register as followers of one of the five official religions. In reality, the variety of religions was much broader, but traditional beliefs existing in different part of the archipelago were not recognized. After Soeharto stepped down in May 1998, all religions unrecognized by the state were allowed again, although radical Islam groups attempted to eliminate some of them, such as the Ahmadiyah movement and the Shia denomination.
Table 1.2 shows the religious composition of the Indonesian population in 1990 and 2010. It makes clear that the percentage of Muslims stayed about the same, while that of Protestants increased a little and that of Catholics, Hindus and Buddhists declined. The category of ‘others’ in 2010 refers to all religions besides the earlier recognized religions, such as Kejawen, Kaharingan and Sunda Wiwitan.
Table 1.2 Population of Indonesia according to religion in 1990 and 2010
Religion 1990 2010 N % N % Islam 156,318,610 87.21 207,176,162 87.18 Protestantism 10,820,769 6.04 16,528,513 6,96 Catholicism 6,411,794 3.58 6,907,873 2,91 Hinduism 3,287,309 1.83 4,012,116 1.69 Buddhism 1,840,693 1.03 1,703,254 0.72 Confucianism - - 117,091 0.05 Others 568,608 0.32 1,191,317 0.51 Total 179,247,783 100.00 237,641,326 100.00
Source: Census 1990 (BPS, 1991) and Census 2010 (BPS, 2011).
The religious composition within the research area of greater Yogyakarta does not differ greatly from the national level. In Ambon city, however, Christians are in the majority. We will give more detailed figures for ethnic and religious diversity in the sections on the research locations below, and make clear that ethnic and religious identification are important across several areas of society, such as the economy, politics and socio-cultural life.
1.2.4.1. Ambon
The city of Ambon is situated on the island of the same name. In colonial times, it was more a town than a city. It was a centre for the spice trade from the end of
the 17th century until about 1860, when spices became less lucrative. Ambon city was the seat of the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) from 1605 to 1796 and capital of the Residency of Amboina from 1867 to 1924. In 1949, after Indonesian independence was recognised by the Dutch, it became the capital of the province of the Moluccas which consists of 1,027 islands. In 1999 the province was divided into two parts: the North Moluccas with Ternate as capital, and the Moluccas, which included the central and southern regions, of which Ambon became the capital. The history of Ambon cannot be disentangled from the history of the whole Moluccas, an area that possesses rich natural resources and has attracted people from near and far for centuries.3 Besides making a living as hunters, gatherers and peasants, by the 15th century the population of the Moluccan islands were trading spices and pearls with people from Java, China and Malacca. The latter were followed by Buginese and Arab traders who alighted in the harbour of Ambon a long time before the Europeans (Ptak, 1992: 27-41; Andaya, 1991: 71- 79).
Ambon town started as a Portuguese fortification in 1576, around which more and more people gradually settled. From the beginning, the population around the fort consisted of local people, people of related ethno-linguistic groups from neighbouring islands and immigrants from elsewhere in the Indonesian archipelago. According to a Dutch proto-census in 1673, 81.29% of the people living in the town were local Moluccans, while the rest consisted of European soldiers, employees of the VOC and migrants from other Indonesian islands. Between 1673 and 1694, the population of the town increased from 4,089 to 5,487 (Knaap, 1991:119).
3 The Moluccas is the homeland of several more or less related ethno-linguistic groups, such as the Alifuru, Togitil, Arunese, Ternatese, Takabu, Bandanese, Rana, Moa, etc. There are 41 ethno-linguistic groups living in the Moluccas (Leirissa et al., 1982:1). The term Ambonese refers to people living on the islands of Ambon and Lease, whose cultures are strongly re- lated (Bartels, 1977:5).
1
Figure 1.1 Map of Ambon Island
Source: www.websitesrcg.com
The establishment of Ambon as a centre of the spice trade resulted in more and more migrants coming to the town. In 1694, almost half the population were migrants: 19.32% were of Malay-Indonesian origin, 14.38% were Europeans and 8.54% Chinese. The number of Moluccans from the island itself was about 57.76% (Knaap, 1995: 234). Due to the flourishing of spice as a lucrative commodity, the population grew steadily. In 1860, the population amounted to 9,586 inhabitants, among whom 1,793 were migrants: 43.39% Europeans, 16.79% Chinese, 3.83% Arabs and 35.97% Malay-Indonesians (Leirissa, 2000: 625). When the first official census was carried out in 1930, Ambon, now a city rather than a town, had 17,078 inhabitants, the Afdeeling (sub-region) of Ambon had 67,597 inhabitants, and the Residentie (residency) of Ambon 400,057 (see Table 1.3). 4
4 The subregion of Ambon consisted of the town of Ambon and the islands Buru, Saparua, West Ceram, Amahai, Wahai, East Ceram, Banda, Kisar, Babar, Saumlaki, Larat, Kai, Boven Digoel and South New Guinea (South of Papua) (Volkstelling 1930, 1931: 31).
Table 1.3 Population groups in Ambon, 1930
Groups Total
Natives Europeans Chinese Other Asians
N % N % N % N % N % Ambon city 13,357 78.11 2,050 12.00 921 5.39 750 4.39 17,078 100.00 Afdeeling Ambon 63,314 93.67 2,294 3.39 1,030 1.52 955 1.41 67,593 100.00 Residentie Ambon 388,754 97.17 3,803 0.95 4,612 1.15 2,888 .72 400,057 100.00 Source: Volkstelling 1930, 1931: 26-27, 46-47.
The census of 1930 confirms that the population of Ambon city was more heterogeneous than that of rural areas of the Afdeeling and residency of Ambon. The natives – all Moluccan ethno-linguistic groups – made up 78.11 % of the total population of the city. The Europeans also included gelijkgestelden, persons from other population groups who had legally obtained equality with Europeans, such as privileged Ambonese and Chinese. ‘Other Asians’ consisted of Foreign Orientals other than Chinese, such as Arabs and Indians.
Among the migrants who came to Ambon at the end of the 19th century were many Butonese from South-east Sulawesi. Physical reminders of their presence in the city still exist today (Chauvel, 1990:2-3). These migrants mainly worked as agricultural labourers in spice gardens owned by Ambonese. Buginese and Makassarese, who migrated to the city in the early 20th century, worked as fishermen or found work on passenger or cargo boats. After independence, and in particular during the New Order government, a growing number of migrants, including Javanese, came to the island both as spontaneous migrants and as part of transmigration projects for landless labourers and unemployed urban citizens. Between 1971 and 1985, the percentage of migrants in the city increased from 5.2% to 14% of the total. In 1990, they made up 30% of the city’s population (ICG, 2002: 1). The steady population growth of Ambon was severely interrupted between 1999 and 2002 when a series of violent conflicts took place in the region, during which at least 1,097 were killed in the city (Varshney et al., 2010: 43). During this period, a huge number of people left (ICG, 2002: 17). In 1998, a year before the troubles started, the city had 314,417 inhabitants, which decreased to 265,830 in 1999 and 209,303 in 2000. However, ten years later, the population had risen to 331, 254.
The recent census of 2010 indicates that the proportion of migrants has increased even further, amounting to 112,715 or 34.03% of the total city population. In the same year, Moluccans made up 74.95% (1,127,148 persons) of the total population of the Moluccas. Of the total migrant population of 399,562, 70.79% or
1
282,860 came from Sulawesi, 19.86% or 79,340 from Java and 9.35% or 37,362 fromother islands (see Table 1.4; Na’im and Syaputra, 2011: 36-41).
To reduce prejudice and hostility following the ethno-religious violence of 1999- 2002, official data about ethnic groups in the city of Ambon ceased to be provided by the regional city government. The 2010 provincial data nevertheless give an idea of present ethnic diversity, as most migrants live in and around the city. In this census, the various ethnic groups in Maluku such as Kei, Ceram, Saparua, Yamdena are classified by the single category of Moluccans. The ethnic groups from Sulawesi other than the Buginese, Makassarese, Minahasa and Gorontalo are also grouped together (Na’im and Syaputra, 2011: 21-54).
Table 1.4 The ethnic composition of the Province of the Moluccas, 2010
Ethnicity N %
Moluccans 1,127,148 74.95
Other ethnic groups from Sulawesi 247,266 16.44
Javanese 79,340 5.28
Nusa Tenggara Timur 8,624 0.57
Makassarese 6,414 0.43 Chinese 4,556 0.30 Sundanese 4,457 0.30 Papua 3,751 0.25 Foreigners 3,300 0.22 Minahasa 2,867 0.19 Others 16,090 1.07 Total 1,432,407 100.00
Source: Na’im and Syaputra, 2011:36
Ambon has become a densely populated city over the last ten years (BPS Ambon, 2012: 5). Table 1.5 shows the population density per district (kecamatan). The highest density is in the downtown area, which includes the port and the markets in the districts of Sirimau, Nusaniwe and Teluk Ambon Baguala.
Table 1.5 Population density per district in the city of Ambon, 2010
District Population Area (Person/Km2)Density N % Km2 % Nusaniwe 89,866 27.13 88.35 0.25 1,017.16 Sirimau 140,064 42.28 86.81 0.24 1,613.45 Teluk Ambon 38.451 11.61 93.68 0.26 410.45 Teluk Ambon Baguala 53,472 16.14 40.11 0.11 1,333.13 Leitimur Selatan 9.401 2.84 50.50 0.14 186,16 Total 331.254 100.00 359.45 100.00 921.56
Source: BPS Kota Ambon 2011.
With regard to religion, in 1930 65.9% of the city population was Protestant and 32.7% was Muslim (Department van Economische Zaken, 1936:139-140). In 1990, the Protestants and Muslims made up respectively 53.46% and 41.11% (BPS Ambon, 1991). In 2010, after the troubles in Ambon, the percentage of Protestants in the city was 57.99%, while the number of Muslims accounted for 38.77%. The religious composition of the city population differs from that of the provinces. At the provincial level, the number of Muslims (50.61%) is higher than that of Christians (48.76%) (BPS and Bappeda Maluku, 2011).
Table 1.6 The population of Ambon city according to religion, 2010
Religion N % Islam 128,417 38.77 Protestantism 192,105 57,99 Catholicism 7,943 2,40 Hinduism 435 0.13 Buddhism 120 0.04 Confucianism 7 0.00 Others 2,227 0.67 Total 331,254 100.00 Sources: BPS, 2011.