Having wrapped up our 2017-2018 fieldwork in the Moluccas, we landed in Jakarta only to receive a short message from someone we did not know. In the message, the person asked, “Why are you researching Loloda? There is nothing in Loloda. You probably want to work on other regions. Loloda is long gone.” The text message made us rethink the position of Loloda, a region in the west coast of Halmahera Island, North Maluku, in society today. Loloda used to be one of the oldest kingdoms in the area during colonial times. Such a message contrasted with the enthusiasm of the people of Loloda that we witnessed during the field research, particularly after the appointment of Suaib bin Syamsudin Syah as kolano (king) of Loloda in 2016. Belittling Loloda is a postcolonial legacy in the local politics of the region today. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2023. This book is an open access publication.