Native Moluccans are Melanesian of origin, The Moluccan community are predominantly Melanesian. And belongs to a transitional people with predominantly Melanesian characteristics. Depending on the islands, the Moluccan inhabitants are therefore a Melanesian-Austronesian population group that form the original population of the Moluccas archipelago.

There is a difference between the Melanesian culture area and the actual Melanesia. Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Papua New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.

Depending on which border is chosen on Wallacea, the Moluccas, East Timor and East Nusa Tenggara belong to Oceania or Asia.