The pre-Islamic rulers of Ternate lorded over the leading spice-producing kingdom in the Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia. They are known from several partly different historical traditions. One version commences with Cico, a chief of the coastal village Sampalu who obtained a mystical golden mortar and pestle and was elected king (Kolano) by the chiefs of the islands. Other versions start with Mashur-ma-lamo, son of the Arab immigrant Jafar Sadik and a heavenly nymph. Ternate was part of a ritual quadripartition together with the kingdoms of Tidore, Jailolo and Bacan. After many generations, King Tidore Wonge converted to Islam and became Sultan under the name Zainal Abidin (1486?-1500?).C.F. van Fraassen (1987) Ternate, de Molukken en de Indonesische Archipel. Leiden: Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, Vol. II, p. 1-12.
Sources and background Written sources for the area are scarce up to 1512 when Portuguese colonizers showed up. Maluku ("Wunugu") was known to the Chinese already by 1225,Georges Coedès (1964) Les étas hindouisés d'Indochine et d'Indonésie. Paris: E. de Boccard, p. 340. and Indian merchants are known to have traded in spices in Indonesia in the same century. The Nagarakŗtagama (1365) mentions "Maloko" together with Banda, Ambon and Onin as dependencies of Majapahit, though this claim is debated.Mpu Prapañca (1995) Deśawarnana (Nagarakŗtagama). Leiden: KITLV Press, p. 34. In 1505 Ludovico di Varthema claims to have visited "Monoch" which probably means Ternate and was the center for clove production. He derides the inhabitants as primitive and does not mention them as being Muslims.Ludovico di Varthema (1863) The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508. London: Hakluyt Society, p. 244-6.
Though Ternate, also known as Gapi, is not explicitly mentioned in pre-1500 sources it was the leading local kingdom in Maluku since the beginnings of documented history, and attracted traders from afar. According to Manuel Lobato, Ternate was "building its own hegemony since a very remote past, a process that certainly started long before the fifteenth century and was about to enter a final stage when it was first described by the Portuguese and Spaniards in the early sixteenth century".Manuel Lobato (2014) "War-making, raiding, slave-hunting and piracy in the Malukan Archipelago", in Y.H. Teddy Sim (ed.) Piracy and surreptitious activities in the Malay Archipelago and adjacent seas, 1600-1840. Singapore: Springer, p. 80. Victor Lieberman writes that the foreign demand for spices was initially so modest "that the people of Ternate and Tidore may not have appreciated cloves' commercial value until Chinese traders arrived in the 14th century. The late 1300s and more especially the late 1400s and 1500s saw a major increase in the supply of cloves to Javanese and Malay middlemen, from whom the Chinese began to obtain that spice indirectly. Such middlemen provided rice, ironware, and textiles, which allowed aspirant overlords in North Maluku to centralize patronage and thus to systematize the gathering of cloves from wild trees; as yet cloves were not cultivated."Victor Lieberman (2009) Strange parallels: Southeast Asia in global contexts, c. 800-1830, Vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 801. While the elite of the island is known to have embraced Islam in the late 15th century due to contacts with foreign merchants,C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. I, p. 32. tradition tells of a long line of pre-Islamic rulers with the title Kolano. They apparently followed local religious practices with a belief in the spirit world. Early European seafarers heard that there had been thirteen kings before the conversion to Islam, however without giving details.Gerret Vermeulen (1677) De gedenkwaerdige voyagie van Gerret Vermeulen naar Oost-Indien. Amsterdam: Jan Claesz, p. 51. As there are no early written sources, the names and details about the Kolanos cannot be ascertained, and the various king lists show some variations. The most important text is François Valentijn’s work Oud en nieuw Oost-Indien (1724). The Protestant priest Valentijn interviewed knowledgeable Ternatans and came up with a short chronicle that starts in the mid-13th century.
Rulers The history of the pre-Islamic rulers is summarized here as it is presented by Valentijn. The exact dates in Valentijn's text are not confirmed by other sources and it is not clear from where he took them.C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. I, p. 33.
Cico (1257–1277)
According to Valentijn, a number of migrant groups from Halmahera settled in Ternate in the mid-13th century to escape the oppressive rule by the King of Jailolo. The earliest settlement was Tobona at the top of the volcanic mountain which was headed by a chief called Guna. When going out to tap a sugar palm to make tuak he found a golden mortar and pestle which he brought back to the village. The general curiosity that the find evoked made Guna uncomfortable so he decided to give the objects away. He thus handed the mortar and pestle to Momole Matiti, chief of the Foramadiahi village halfway down the mountain. As Momole Matiti also soon found himself disturbed by all the curious persons, he in turn gave the objects to Cico, the leader of Sampalu village by the coast. Cico was able to handle all the attention he received, and his status among the village leaders grew. Finally he was asked to become the ruler of Ternate with the title Kolano. This happened about 1257.Leonard Y. Andaya (1993) The world of Maluku. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, p. 50. Cico ruled for about 20 years in a discreet and friendly way. Although he had been invested with kingship over the island, he never made full use of his powers, in order not to alienate the people who had appointed him. From a misreading of the 17th-century writer Rijali, Valentijn claims that he was also known as Kaicili Cuka, Kaicili meaning prince. In fact, Kaicili Cuka was a 16th-century prince who fought the Portuguese.C.F. van Fraassen (1987), Vol. II, p. 9.
Poit (1277–1284) Before his demise in 1277 Cico made the Ternatans acknowledge his son Poit as the rightful successor. Poit was 24 years old when he became Kolano and ventured to rule his subjects in a stricter way than his father had done. Subjects who tried to withdraw from his rule were swiftly subjugated, after which he was able to reign in peace until his demise in early 1284.François Valentijn (1724), p. 135 In other sources the second ruler is known as Jamin.
Siale (1284–1298) Poit had two sons called Gam-ma-Tihata and Siale who contested the throne. Siale killed his brother and obtained the Kolano-ship in late 1284. The King of Jailolo caused much trouble by repeatedly raiding Ternate from his base in Halmahera. Around 1290 the neighbouring islands Tidore, Moti and Bacan also started conducting raids. As he lay sick, Siale dispatched some of his sons to keep watch against the marauders. On one night the sons successfully captured a number of Tidorese vessels with light losses on their own side. After this feat, Siale’s might grew and the number of villages and settlers increased. Siale therefore moved his residence downhill to Foramadiahi, so that he could confront foreign raiders the more easy. In old age he suffered a stroke and died after three months, leaving nine sons.François Valentijn (1724), p. 135 An alternative list has Komalo as the third ruler of Ternate.F.S.A. de Clercq, (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate. Leiden: Brill, p. 148.
Kalabata (1298–1304) His eldest son Kalabata followed him in 1298. In contrast with his father he was a weak and voluptuous figure. His brothers nevertheless supported him well in defeating outer enemies as well as rebellious subjects. In the face of these feats Kalabata began to fear his siblings and poisoned the three most outstanding. The others realized that their own lives were in danger and fled to a village on Tidore that was headed by chief Malonga who gave them protection. Two brothers died in Tidore, but the other four returned to Ternate at Kalabata’s death in 1304.François Valentijn (1724), p. 135 A 19th-century list has the name Bakuku as the fourth ruler.F.S.A. de Clercq, (1890), p. 148
Komalo (1304–1317) Kalabata left three sons of whom Komalo was enthroned in 1304. His mother was a Malay woman. While the first four kings had only local power on Ternate island, the influence of the Ternatans in the region now began to expand. Through his contacts, Komalo was able to attract seafarers from the western archipelago, such as Javanese and Malay, so that his reputation grew. The King of Jailolo created trouble again, but Komalo counterattacked and occupied some villages in Halmahera. He also conquered a village on Tidore in person during a night raid. Another village in the neighbourhood was defeated and the male inhabitants left their wives and children in panic. The king returned them on the promise of tribute.
Komalo had a single son of cruel disposition, Abderama. He tried to appoint him as his heir, but a number of grandees rose against him and forced him to submit to their will, in 1309. Komalo, however, was soon able to regain full powers. He nevertheless realized that his brave but harsh son, who had started to gain some following among the Ternatans, could pose a danger to the kingdom. He therefore brought Abderama along on a trip towards the opposite coast in the middle of the night, and then pushed him overboard to drown in the waves. After this he lived another eight years, until his demise in 1317.François Valentijn (1724), p. 136 Alternatively, the name of the fifth ruler is given as Ngara-mo-lamo in a late king-list.F.S.A. de Clercq, (1890), p. 148
Patsaranga-ma-lamo (1317–1322) His brother Patsaranga-ma-lamo, already 50 years of age, now took over the dignity. The grandees of the kingdom made him promise to change the rules of succession, so that a Kolano must be succeeded by a brother or some other relative from a side-branch. He was a mild ruler who was well liked. Few events of importance occurred during his tenure, but he conquered two villages in Makian in 1321. In spite of his previous promise he tried to make his son Komalo Bangsa the heir, but was instead deposed by the Ternatans in 1322.François Valentijn (1724), p. 136
Sidang Arif Malamo (1322–1331) Sidang Arif Malamo, son of a sister of his predecessor, was appointed as ruler. During his reign many Javanese and Arabs began to settle in Ternate for the clove trade or other purposes, and commerce flourished. The neighbouring islands, jealous of Ternate, tried to attract foreigners as well. It was now that Tidore and Bacan appointed Kolanos in order to compete with Ternate. Obi also brought forward a king of its own, though he was not powerful enough to be counted among the four Malukan rulers (Ternate, Tidore, Jailolo and Bacan).
After a while the four kings of Maluku held a meeting on Moti Island where they decided to henceforth live in peace and make a bond. It was decided that Jailolo would be the first in rank, followed by Ternate, Tidore and Bacan. The King of Bacan protested that he actually had a seniority since his forefather Biko Cigara had once found the eggs of a dragon among the rocks close to Bacan, and that the kings were descended from these eggs. His objections were in vain, however. Sidang Arif greatly increased his knowledge about matters of the world through his friendship with foreigners, and therefore received his name – Sidang Arif means wise master. He eventually died in 1331, leaving five sons.François Valentijn (1724), p. 137
Paji-ma-lamo (1331–1332)