This site

Hi,

This site contains songs from the Moluccas Islands, also known as the ‘spiced islands’.

‘Spiced’ because nutmeg and cloves are are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice. Cloves are commercially harvested primarily in Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka—and the largest producer, Pemba Island, just off the coast of Tanzania.

These traditional songs, “lagu-lagu Maluku”,  from the Maluku Islands, usually “sing a longs”  by the Moluccan community, on different occasions from wedding to funeral.

Mostly played with traditional instruments:

  • Tifa: Moluccan drum
  • Totobuang: metal gong kettles which are laid horizontally upon a rack
  • Guitar
  • Violin
  • Flute