maluku

Irama or Tari Fersokat
$0.99

Ibu Maluku: The Story of Jeanne van Diejen
$14.95
It takes a long a time to get through this book - you get to read a lot for your money!
It must be a fascinating reading for those interested in how the Dutch lived in Maluku in the first half of the 20th century.
The first part of the story tells how a young Dutch couple move to North Maluku (first Mangole in the Sula Islands, then to Tobelo on Halmahera) after the First World War to establish their own plantation. This is very much a story of colonial life - information on the life of the native people of Maluku is rather scarce.
The second part describes life under the Japanese occupation - mostly as POW in camps on Ambon and in South Sulawesi. It is interesting for her rather objective description of the Japanese, who are shown to be humans after all.
In the third part, van Diejen describes how she stays on after Indonesia becomes independent, becoming a social worker. With most of the Dutch (and her plantation) now gone, she is now working with Indonesians and spends much time visiting remote regions. This is the part which contains the most interesting descriptions of Maluku and its people.

Papua-Maluku Map by Nelles
$10.95
Folded road and travel map in color. Scale 1:1,500,000. Includes inset of Ambon/Haruku/Saparua (1:500,000), Banda Islands (1:250,000), Ternate/Tidore (1:385,000).

Indonesia (Maluku) Music Of Maluku And North Maluku
$17.98
The first one in this set of two CDs contains a varied and pleasant collection of traditional and modern music from Ambon, Seram, Kei and Tanimbar in southern Maluku. Most songs are even pleasant to listen to for Western ears!
Unfortunately the second CD, devoted entirely to North Maluku, actually only has recordings of traditional music from the tiny but historically important island of Ternate. While these are not bad, it would have been far more interesting if they include traditional music from other islands of North Maluku, such as Halmahera or Makian, both of which have very strong and distinctive traditions of music all their own.
If you are interested in the music and culture of Maluku, this set of CDs is certainly worth buying, but so is the single CD "Music of Maluku: Halmahera, Buru, Kei" from the Smithonian Folkways series, which includes traditional music from Makian as well.