Ternate Sultanate (Indonesia)

Former Indonesian Princely State

Last modified: 2026-10-17 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: princely states | ternate | goheba madopolo romdidi |
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• Ternate Sultanate
• Ternate National Flag
• Ternate Battalion Colour
• Ternate Merchant Ensign
• Ternate Car Flag
• Ternate State Flag
• Ternate personal Standard of Sultan
• Bendera Goheba Madopolo Romdidi
• Ternate Sultan Boat Flags
• Ternate Streamers
• Ternate Dajalu
• Ternate Map 1582

See also:

• List of princely states
• Indonesia
• Indonesia - Index of all pages

Ternate Sultanate

Ternate National Flag

Acc. to Dirk Rühl the inscription on the white disc of a yellow flag is red. But we have evidence in our archives of a car flag with white fringes, where the inscription is black.
Source:
Rühl 1952, p.143
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 Oct 2026

Ternate Battalion Colour

BENDERA KOMPANI (or Battalion Flag), in the central disc is "Al Molok Buldan Tarnate" (The Moluccas are Ternate Territory).
John McMeekin, 25 Feb 2015

Ternate Merchant Ensign

Ratio c. 1:1.

Jaume Ollé

Ternate Car Flag

This appears to be the Sultan's Car Flag, note white frill in this photo.
John McMeekin, 4 Dec 2010

Ternate State Flag

Ternate personal Standard of Sultan

The Sultanate Motto is "MOLOKU KIE RAHA"
The Sultan's Motto is "LIMAU GAPI"
John McMeekin, 4 Dec 2010

Bendera Goheba Madopolo Romdidi

image by Rob Raeside, 8 June 2010, based on sketch by John McMeekin

3:5, image by Klaus-Michael Schneider,

For centuries, the sultanates of Tidore and Ternate were rivals for dominance over the Moluccas. Their core territories consisted of two tiny, adjacent volcanic islands west of Halmahera. Tidore was Ternate´s southern neighbour. Ternate controlled the greater part of the Moluccas until 1652, when the VOC forced it to sign a treaty. Tidore maintained its hegemony over neighboring Halmahera, the Bird´s Head Peninsula on New Guinea, and the intervening islands until the 19th century. Both remained sultanates associated with the Dutch until 1946. Ther is a yellow flag featuring three red borders and a silver mythical creature (Ternatean: Goheba Madopolo Romdidi). This is a two-headed bird with a single body and a single heart. It is a traditional heraldic symbol of Ternate, though the name also refers to the flag as a whole. The symbol holds deep cultural and philosophical significance. It represents the inseparable unity between the Sultan and his people, as well as the principle that all people must work together to achieve common goals. The two heads signify different opinions, yet a single shared heart beats within the breast.
Sources:
Marcel van Westerhoven: "The Flags of Princely States of the Dutch East Indies", in "Proceeedings of the ICV25", Rotterdam 2013, p.14/9
this webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 Oct 2026

Ternate Sultan Boat Flags

  image by John McMeekin, 25 Feb 2015

PANJI-PANJI KOI MA-RAU 1/2 m wide x 2 m long (flags like banana leaves) flown on the Sultan's boat.
John McMeekin, 25 Feb 2015

Ternate Streamers

  images by John McMeekin, 25 February 2015

PANIKI & NJON (streamers like a bat & ray).
John McMeekin, 25 February 2015

AMRAL (Great Pennant) - Flown from the top of the mast of the Sultan's boat, Princes are allowed to fly this flag, but Sengaji's (a kind of Governor) are not allowed to fly them.
John McMeekin, 25 Feb 2015

Ternate Dajalu

DAJALU (KOI MA-RAU). Half as big as the Sultan's flags and can be flown by Sengaji's.
John McMeekin, 25 Feb 2015

Ternate Map 1582

The territory of the Sultanate in 1582 is painted red.

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