The Etnohistorical Trajectory of the Banda Ely Diaspora in Ternate: Memory, Migration, and Cultural Transformation

Abstract

This study traces the ethnohistorical trajectory of the Banda Ely diaspora in Ternate by emphasizing the interconnectedness of collective memory, lived experience, migration, and processes of cultural transformation. Using an ethnographic approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 key informants and analyzed through the stages of heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The findings show that memories of the ancestral exodus from Banda to Kei serve as a foundation of identity as well as a source of sociocultural resilience for the community in Ternate. Migration across spaces and generations not only shaped economic and social adaptation, but also generated dynamic identity negotiations within Ternate’s multiethnic context. The cultural transformations occurring in language, ritual practices, and social structure reflect the Banda Ely community’s ability to maintain core elements of their identity while responding to external change. Cultural transformation is not merely a process of alteration, but a survival strategy that enables a minority group to remain present and relevant in a new environment.