We returned to Banda beneath heavy skies, the peak of Gunung Api (Fire Mountain) obscured by dense cloud.  Much of Banda’s long and dark history is equally buried in the graveyards of the colonial rulers, the fortresses bearing down from hilltops and the insignia of the VOC (the Dutch East Indies Company) carved into thick stone gateways of nutmeg plantations of the past. 

We spent a month here over a year ago, studying the coral reef that was devastated by the eruption of Gunung Api in 1988 to find how well they had recovered.  We dove beneath the shadows of the lava flow to discover flourishing reef systems that have emerged since the seas boiled. This year, we returned to explore more of its underwater treasures, to reunite with our Bandanese friends and to be part of the celebrations marking the passing of twenty years since the volcanic eruption and four hundred years since the start of the first Dutch war.

Banda’s King, Des Alwi, embodies both Banda’s turbulent past and its future preservation.  He has carried out extensive research about the history of the islands; performed a seminal role in the struggle for Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch alongside Sutan Sjahrir (Indonesia’s first Prime Minister) and Mohammed Hatta (its first Vice President) who were both exiled to Banda; and paid tireless attention to the restoration and preservation of the islands’ historical remains and natural beauty.  For these celebrations of 2008, he had gathered diplomats from the Netherlands, the USA, Singapore and Malaysia plus a host of Indonesia’s media and politicians to gather with the people of his islands.  PCRF played its own part in the celebrations, joining in the offering of flowers to the sea at the opening of the festival and attending and recording all the cultural events.

During the course of the festival, there were many performances of the cakalele, the dance which retells the massacre of the Bandanese elders.  Spirits of the ancestors are called to take part in the dance, five bamboo posts are adorned with red and white scarves to represent the ancient leaders and sand is strewn on the ground to represent the blood of the dead men.  The costume and decorations surrounding the dance reveal the vast diversity of cultural influences on these islands: medieval Portuguese-style headwear; birds of paradise from west Papua; Chinese dragons.  Magic and symbols reappeared in the figureheads of the kora koras, the traditional war canoes, which raced each other around the island.

Banda may appear to be an obscure group of islands in the twenty first century, but three hundred years ago, when nutmeg was the most sought after commodity on the planet, the fertile soils of these islands were the world’s only source.  Nutmeg was prized as a preservative in the days before refrigeration.  Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Magellan and Sir Francis Drake were all in pursuit of Banda and the surrounding Spice Islands.  When Columbus’ crew landed on the shores of America, they were under the illusion that they had arrived in the Spice Islands and shouted ‘Mericha, mericha’, the Portuguese for ‘pepper’.  Another link between Banda and America lies in the fact that the English abandoned their claim to Run, one of the islands, exchanging it for the distant Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (to become Manhattan, USA).  Banda has since slipped behind a veil of obscurity which, in itself, has helped to preserve it.  But the nutmeg legacy lives on in continued export of the nutmeg and its mace sheath, plus candied fruit, jams and syrups with a unique flavor.  Banda’s nutmeg is still highly sought because no chemicals have been used on Banda’s soil.  The purity of Banda’s clean air and beautiful landscapes is most apparent on the ascent of Gunung Api, a gentle jaunt for some of us, and an arduous climb for others!  At each vantage point, the view downwards changed to reveal more and more of this magical land and the waters surrounding.

Underwater, dense schools of black snapper, full sized groupers, turtles and mandarin fish dance above a substrate of glorious corals and sea fans.  Some of the dives here are spectacular and will hopefully contribute to the Banda Islands becoming a World Heritage Site.  PCRF has a long term interest in Banda’s future, with aims to play a part in its preservation and continued restoration, as a demonstration project for the preservation of the planet’s largest archipelago, Indonesia, and, by extension, for the islands and reefs of the world.