A poem by Dr M Ahmedullah “THE GIFT AND CURSE OF NUTMEG IN THE BANDA ISLANDS ARCHIPELAGO!”
By Dr M Ahmedullah
(Commemorating the 8 May 1621 Banda Massacre)
Nutmeg is a humble fruit; the world’s most beautiful and enchanting.
Beneath its outer, fleshy, edible layer lie nutmeg and mace, once two of the world’s most valuable spices.
Their fragrance bewitched countless generations worldwide; their flavour delighted human taste buds for centuries; their compounds held out the hope of curing plagues and dangerous diseases.
Traders from far-distant lands voyaged to the isolated Banda Islands, the only source of nutmeg.
They vied fiercely to acquire the mace and nutmeg, once more valuable than gold by weight.
The lure of fortune enriched those who braved stormy, perilous seas to reach these distant shores.
The magnetic pull of these fragrant isles, in the middle of nowhere, drew adventurous traders from the east, west, south, north and everywhere.
The spirit and vitality of the Bandanese people gifted the world with a constant supply of a unique aromatic flavour that enriched their cuisine.
In return, outside traders brought to the Banda Islands what they lacked in their lands to make a good living.
As prized ingredients for European tables and medicines, their demand unleashed violence, conquest and ultimately genocide in 1621 upon the archipelago that gave birth to the nutmeg.
The Portuguese arrived in the Banda Islands in 1512 and obtained their first supply of nutmeg and mace directly from the source.
The Dutch reached the Bandas in 1599, the English in 1605, and they also obtained their first supply of the much-demanded spices from the source.
With them arriving in the Bandas dawned a new, destructive era that changed everything forever.
The Dutch wanted to monopolise the nutmeg trade and cut off everyone else from having direct access to the Banda Islands’ miracle fruit.
This, they accomplished in 1621, through the immense bloodshed and devastation they caused to the tiny rocks of scented tranquillity.
All because its people refused to stop trading with the many, their time-tested, immemorial ways of exchanging the products of nature and human creativity.
Immense prosperity and science, arts and architecture flourished in the Netherlands of the 17 th century.
Much of which were the direct result of the wealth they made through the suffering they inflicted on the helpless Bandanese.
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The death and destruction caused to one people on one side of the world brought immense prosperity to another people on another side of the world! This is the story of the Banda Massacre of 8 May 1621.
