The
Ambonese, also known as
South Moluccans, are an
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n ethnic group of mixed Malay-Papuan origin. They are mostly Christians or Muslims. Ambonese are from
Ambon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province...
in Maluku, an island group east of
SulawesiSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands.- Etymology :...
and north of
TimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara....
in Indonesia. The predominant language of the island is Ambonese Malay, also called
Ambonese. It developed as the trade language of central Maluku, and is spoken elsewhere in Maluku as a second language.
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The
Ambonese, also known as
South Moluccans, are an
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n ethnic group of mixed Malay-Papuan origin. They are mostly Christians or Muslims. Ambonese are from
Ambon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province...
in Maluku, an island group east of
SulawesiSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands.- Etymology :...
and north of
TimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara....
in Indonesia. The predominant language of the island is Ambonese Malay, also called
Ambonese. It developed as the trade language of central Maluku, and is spoken elsewhere in Maluku as a second language. Bilingualism in
IndonesianIndonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Classical Malay of the Riau-Johor Sultanate. It was first declared the official language with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, following the 1928 unifying-language declaration in the...
is high around
Ambon CityAmbon is the main city and seaport of Ambon Island, and is the capital of Maluku province of Indonesia. It is one of the largest cities in eastern Indonesia...
.
An ethnic mixture of Southeast Asians and
MelanesiaMelanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
n people of
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
, they speak a Malayo-Polynesian language. A typical Ambonese village consists of about 1,500 people who live in houses of woven sago leaves or plastered
bambooThe bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world...
on stone foundations; they cultivate surrounding hillsides.
The Ambonese have been heavily influenced by
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
and
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
, and indigenous customs have largely disappeared.