Ternate Sultanate Palace: A Multifaceted Hub at the Crossroads of Culture and Politics

Abstract

Historically, sultans have always had living space (lebenschraum habitus). In the Sultanate of Ternate, the living space of the sultans was the kadaton (palace) which since its birth was organized according to the philosophical cosmology constructed in a person’s customs. The palace (kadaton) as the basis of political legitimacy means that the palace is not merely the residence of the king and his relatives, but it is also seen as the state itself (exemplary state), so that in the history of its development, the palace has become an institution of power that politically has the same weight as the institution nobility itself. This research aims to 1) to reveal the Myth of the Seven Princesses: Source of Legitimacy, and 2) to reveal how the Sultan’s palace strengthened the Cultural and Political Center. This research used descriptive qualitative method. The result of this research revealed that the Sultanate of Ternate attempted to build and maintain its power base based on three factors. First, geopolitics, which causes the palace to have a traditional identity position that is closely related to the source of magical beliefs. Second, the doctrine of power, the palace has a central doctrine which makes the king the representative of God’s power (micro cosmos). Third, the basis of aristocratic power centered on cultural hegemony.