The term referred to certain lands and their inhabitants that were considered "wild", "untamed" or "pagan", particularly in regions that fell under the influence of Tidore and neighboring Ternate.

[5] In 1879 Van Musschenbroek, former Resident of Menado, described the use of the term in the following way: As with the so-called Indians of South America, the various peoples collectively referred to as Alfurs were not culturally homogeneous.

The term Alfur is thus generally claimed to be of no ethnological value, and shortly after the turn of the 20th century it practically disappeared from Dutch administrative and academic writings.

[7] In present-day publications like guide books "Alfur" is included as a generic name for the indigenous people living in forest areas of the larger islands of the Maluku, like Halmahera and Seram.

They act like soldiers and armed with machetes, knives, spears, javelin, bows and arrows and muskets for higher ranking officials.