Boya Latumahina is a Dutch London-based Art Director who created our incredible logo. She studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in the British capital and lives there with her partner and young son. She currently leads the creative department of a luxury hospitality group, where she conceptualises ideas and oversees the production for social media, print and events for clubs and restaurants such as The Ivy, Annabel’s and Sexy Fish.

She was excited when her friend Nataly Sopacuaperu told her about Bahasa Basudara as she too wanted to be part of a wider international Moluccan community. And was disappointed when she couldn't join the tutoring programme, due to a hectic work schedule and other commitments. She was however thrilled when Jeff Malaihollo approached her to ask if she could design the Bahasa Basudara logo.

Here she tells us how she found her inspiration. 

“The logo came about by digging into our ancient ancestral Alifuru history. I researched the language, our symbols and colours but also looked at what we stand for and what we want to achieve with Bahasa Basudara.

For the logo I chose to adapt the symbol that represents Siwalima. The word Siwalima is formed from two words taken from the history of the kingdoms that once existed in Maluku. The word Siwa means Nine, signifying the collection of nine kingdoms in the southern Maluku. The word Lima, which means Five is taken from Patalima, a collection of five kingdoms in northern Maluku.

The big circle represents Mount Nunusaku in Seram, which we believe to be the origin of all humanity. The 4 birds in the symbol represent the migration of humanity from Mount Nunusaku to all four corners of the world. This symbol is very much about our heritage and our place in the world.

I went for traditional Moluccan colours: Red which represents courage and confidence; White which represents purity and symbolises Kain Gandong (the cloth that unites us all) and of course the colour Black, a traditional colour that is still used in our Adat clothing, along with red.

For our certificates I’ve chosen to adapt traditional Moluccan patterns. The achievements are framed by these inherently powerful illustrations, to communicate a sense of identity, culture and pride.”