Seram Island
Seram (formerly Ceram ) is 17.1 thousand km ², the second largest island in the archipelago of the Moluccas, and is part of the Indonesian province of Maluku (South Moluccas ). Capital is Masohi in the center of the island, on the south coast.
Geography
Seram located in the Pacific Ocean, between the Banda Sea to the south and the Ceram Sea to the north, about 550 kilometers east of Sulawesi, 220 kilometers south of Halmahera, 150 km west of New Guinea and 560 kilometers north-east of Timor. The geographical location of the island is between 3 ° and 4 ° south latitude and between 128 ° and 131 ° east longitude. It measures about 320 kilometers from east to west and 70 kilometers from north to south.
The island is mountainous and covered with tropical rain forest and inhabited only very slight. The highest mountain on the island is Mount Binaiya ( Gunung Binaiya ) with 3,027 meters in the middle of the island. The area around the mountain is protected as Manusela National Park.
About ten kilometers of sea in a south-westerly direction separate the places Rumahkal on Seram and Liang on the island of Ambon. There is also Ambon, the provincial capital of Maluku.
Fauna
On Seram live 21 endemic bird species. However, currently many parrot species are threatened, despite Policy. The bird -catcher is an important source of income for the local population.
Religion
The majority of Seramesen are Muslims. Christians are mainly in the west and in the interior of the island. Christianity has spread in the early 20th century. Not by the Dutch colonial masters, but by Indonesian missionaries from Ambon. With dealers in the port places of Islam arrived in the coastal regions. Some immigrant Balinese are Hindus. The summarized under the pejorative term Alfuren domestic population still depends on some animistic beliefs. An example of old animist beliefs are myth Hainuwele the original population of Wemale.
History
Seram was up to the conquest by the Dutch in possession of the Sultans of Ternate. In the 16th and 17th century Portuguese missionaries had great influence on the island. 1650 Seram was finally Dutch possession.
Transport and Traffic
Seram is accessible primarily from the island of Ambon from. Merpati offers flights from Ambon City to Masohi and Wahai. A ferry link is there between Liang on Ambon and Seram Kairatu to six kilometers west of Masohi. There is also a fast boat connection from Tulehu on Ambon, right after Masohi. Another port on Seram is Amahai, five kilometers south-east of Masohi.
The road network on Seram encloses the western part of the island and extends in the east to Tehoru. The roads in the north are mostly in poor condition. A road leads across Seram of Masohi after Wahai on the north coast. The locations Kobi and Bula on the northeast coast are accessible by car. On most streets, there are public buses, taxis and motorcycle taxis ( Ojeks ).