The Maybrat Tribe in West Papua is one of the local tribes who live on the island of Papua, precisely in the bird’s head of Papua Island. They lived in four administrative districts at the district level when the Dutch East Indies administration was still in progress, namely the Mare district, Aifat district, Ayamaru district, and Aitinyo district. The four communities are under the territory of the Residency of Manokwari.
Over time, the Maybrat tribe now inhabits three sub-districts that are included in the government area of Sorong Regency, namely, Ayamaru District, Aifat District, Aitinyo District, and some others live in Sausapor District. Nevertheless, a small part of the Maybrat Tribe still inhabits the Manokwari Regency area, precisely in Kebar District.
Religions of Maybrat Tribe in West Papua
The majority of the Maybrat tribe are Christians, Catholic Christianity, and Protestant Christianity. They mostly live along the main inter-village roads leading to sub-district towns. The Maybrat Tribe’s young generation also received a lot of education in the Papua region. These include Jayapura, Manokwari, and Sorong and areas outside the region, such as Java, Sulawesi, and Sumatra.
Although several other local tribes in Papua also experienced the social developments they experienced, the Maybrat tribe still has differences, especially in terms of cultural appearance and traditional rites. This difference is reflected in the pronunciation of languages that are very different from those used by other tribes in their daily lives.
Traditional Wisdom of Maybrat Tribe in West Papua
The concept of God in the Maybrat Tribe in West Papua is known as Yefun. The word Yefun is a concept extracted from the understanding of the community. It is derived from the phrase “ye” which means to give, to create, and to make; “fun,” which means binding, the umbilical cord, and the essence of life.
Thus, the Maybrat tribe calls Yefun something highly dependent and expected. They tied the umbilical cord to the creator, namely Yefun. Before Christianity was introduced to the Maybrat tribe, Yefun was their original belief.
Getting to know the Wuon and Fnyia Mrokh Rituals
In understanding the mysteries of life, the Maybrat tribe can realize them through a ritual process called wuon (initiation ceremony for men) and fnyia mrokh (initiation ceremony for women). Those who experience the wuon process will explore and understand the mysteries of life, both natural and magical.
However, the development of the Maybrat community is often careless to manifest the secret of God. The God is symbolized in the wuon ceremony so that humans can believe in the presence of God in a ritual ceremony.
The Maybrat Tribe in West Papua believes that the creation of the universe and everything in it is reflected in the myths of Shiva and Mafif. Sifa and Mafif are a pair of brothers who make all creation, and they are not equated with human form or other spirits. The myth presents the blessed, empowered to have the nature of immortality through the myths that live in the oral society.
Beliefs about Takuo and Wian
“Takuo” and “wian” are spirits. According to the Maybrat Tribe, Takuo is a spirit from deceased ancestors. When their ancestors and relatives died, their spirits could reside in mountains, trees, caves, or other sacred places. They also believe that the spirits of their ancestors can transform into krok birds, a type of kafuk bird, and also sisaom (birds of news bearers).
Among the incarnations of these ancestors, some protect nature and humans. Some are disturbing or destructive if the existing order is not maintained in a balanced manner. It happened both social, natural, physical, and human orders with magical nature.
The Maybrat tribe believes him to play a role in the form of water. It is always respected by the owner and the primary protector of the existing land. While Wian is nothing but the spirit of Takou himself. Takou is understood as a human figure. It is then considered as a power or spirit that always accompanies and does everything with Takou.
During celebration parties or refreshments, the Maybrat Tribe in West Papua will always begin with a prayer of supplication to the Takou-takou. They are there to protect their entire garden.
Wrapping Up
When the Dutch East Indies government was still in place, Maybrat Tribe in West Papua resided in four administrative districts. It resided at the district level: Mare district, Aifat district, Ayamaru district, and Aitinyo district.
Before being exposed to Christianity, the Maybrat tribe had a belief system called yefun. Yefun denotes the umbilical cord and the essence of life in different languages. For people to believe in the existence of God, it is symbolized in the wuon ritual.
