The Ambonese, also known asSouth Moluccans, are anIndonesian ethnic group of mixed Austronesian-Papuan origin. They are mostly Christians or Muslims. Ambonese are from Ambon Islandin Maluku, an island group east ofSulawesi and north of Timor in Indonesia. The predominant language of the island is Ambonese Malay, also called Ambonese language. It developed as the trade language of central Maluku, and is spoken elsewhere in Maluku as a second language. Bilingualism inIndonesian is high around Ambon City. They are an ethnic mixture of Southeast Asians and Melanesianspeople of New Guinea, as they speak a Malayo-Polynesian language