Constitutionalism and conflict in Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia

Allegedly the oldest in Indonesia, and to some even beyond, the constitution treasured in the Kedaton (traditional palace) of the Sultan of Ternate (North Maluku, Indonesia) constitutes a dividing line between North and South Ternate in terms of government, ethnicity, and, spirituality. Moreover, it constitutes a Kingdom of God within the Republic of Indonesia. The Sultan is as a spiritual leader, being both Jesus (with regard to the town of Ternate) and Mohammed (with regard to the Kedaton), as well as a political ruler. Adherents of the Sultan conceptualize Ternate as ‘Taman Eden’ (Garden of Eden), as the center of the world, citing Wallace (and Darwin) as evidence. While adherers to the Sultan (living mainly in central and North Ternate) follow the customary law (adat hukum) of the Kedaton, those living in the south are loyal to the Indonesian state and its government, a division that was created during Dutch VOC times. This division was played out on the eve of a Jihad conducted by Muslims from Halmahera and South Ternate and backed up by the Jihad movement from Java, to avenge atrocities committed by Christians in Halmahera. December 1999, when Ramadan and Christmas coincided, the army of the Sultan, ‘Pasukan Kuning’, violently clashed with the ‘Pasukan Putih’ from south Ternate, who were backed up by the Sultan from Tidore who was eager to overthrown the powerful position of the Sultan of Ternate. In this paper, I seek to unravel how subaltern constitutionalism in Ternate works against the central state, and vice versa, and how this led to violence between (mainly) Ternate Muslims