A good way to appreciate the history of a culture is to study the native language of the said community. Unfortunately, data show that innumerable unique languages around the world are on the verge of extinction, one of which is the Air Matoa Language.
The language originates from the Rurumo Village of the Etna Bay District, Kaimana. While it holds a wealth of valuable information about the ethnic identity of the Rurumo people, it is currently experiencing an acute crisis of neglect because of modern advances.
Before we dive into the key aspect, let us first learn about the language.
An Introduction to the Air Matoa Language
In Etna Bay District, West Papua, more precisely in Rurumo Village, Air Matoa serves as a means of communication for locals.
The people of Rurumo, whose ethnic background is Miere, used to be nomads before settling in the village. It only became an administrative area in 1977 or about 32 years after Indonesia’s independence. In fact, Rurumo is a coastal area. An indigenous man leads the community through an election.
Interestingly, the locals also use Yeresiam and Yuafeta in their daily lives. In addition, they interact with local languages from neighboring villages. For example, Napiti Pantai is used in Bamana in the east, north, and west of the village.
Another vernacular language that has emerged around Rurumo is Busama. The native speakers of Busama are residents of Boiya who live across the south of Rurumo.
Like the Abun language, Air Matoa is also an isolect. Compared to Yeresiam, which is also a vernacular in Rurumo, Air Matoa only shares about 0 % to 19% in common. This means that people from each village may not understand each other in their mother tongue.
Unfortunately, a census by the Ministry of Education and Culture revealed that today there are only five people who understand Air Matoa. This puts the language at serious risk of becoming extinct.
What Might Cause the Loss of Air Matoa
According to Katadata, West Papua is the province with the second largest number of native languages in Indonesia, with 102 languages.
However, a language map by Gary F. Simons in his 2019 article reveals West Papua is experiencing language loss of between 20% and 33% today. Simons predicts that every two weeks a heritage language disappears in the region a hundred years from now.
Considering that there are only a handful of Air Matoa native speakers, the language may become extinct within the next century.
But how is Air Matoa dying?
The simple answer is that Air Matoa dies when people stop using it. However, the reality is more complex than that.
For example, most of the Rurumos probably moved to a different area. As a result, they spoke the dominant language in their new place. In the long run, this can force Rurumos who have become immigrants, to stop teaching Air Matoa to their children.
In other cases, the death of the language can occur suddenly because of a sudden phenomenon that wipes out part of the Rurumo population. This includes disease and natural disasters. Nonetheless, since there are no official records regarding Rurumo’s demographics, it is difficult to pinpoint a definite cause.
Luckily, this does not mean the end.
How to Save Air Matoa?
Since language is an integral element of a culture, its death may cause the loss of access to customs that have been passed down for many generations. This is one reason we should work to save Air Matoa.
We need to do more than expect linguists to record the last native speakers of Air Matoa. The time has come for us to document the language in depth.
Also, together with the Government of West Papua, people can ask locals to teach language classes for a fee. Exploring social media outlets is another great way to preserve the language, as it has become a primary means of modern communication.
All in all, the key aspect is to raise public awareness, which can prevent the loss of the Air Matoa language.
