The Tehit tribe, also known as Tehit tribe, is a tribe of people in West Papua, Indonesia. They live by the marsh beaches of Teminabuan, South Sorong, with roughly twenty-five thousand members overall.
Interestingly, the word tehid came from the word tahiyid. It roughly means “they are Tehit”, but the lexical meaning of the word tehid itself has been lost to time.
The People of Tehit Tribe
The people of Tehit tribe came from elsewhere and pushed the early settlers, the indigenous Papuan people of Safledrar. Tehit tribe’s origin was not in South Sorong. They came from the Seget-Sele peninsula and migrated into the Teminabuan area.
The people make their living according to where their settlements are located. As sago is more common in the marshier areas, the people who live at the marshes cut sago trees and collect the starches. Sago is a staple food among people in Papua and is sought after.
Meanwhile, people who live on drier land work as farmers. They open the land for farms and plant various vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and squashes.
Tehit Tribe’s Leaders
In the past, the Tehit tribe was led by four small kings. Above them, a dominant king stayed at Teminabuan and oversaw everything.
Nowadays, things are a bit more simple. The tribe consists of several clans, each with its own clan head.
The clan head, also known as Nakhohokh, oversees many problems, especially ones pertaining to society and culture. This includes issues such as inheritance, wedding rules and regulations, and violations of cultural norms and rules.
The clan heads are also expected to settle problems and disputes within the community. To do this, they would invite the wise elders of the tribe and open a discussion, where the elders could weigh in on the matter. The decisions are taken after a discussion in the forum.
Culture And Beliefs
Tehit culture places an emphasis on spirits, especially ancestor spirits. The tribe believes that the ancestors’ spirits would watch over their descendants. However, if the spirits believe that their descendants have done something wrong or broken the cultural norms and rules, they would visit the descendants.
The visit itself is not benevolent in nature, because it is believed that the spirits would cause misfortune to the descendants to warn them that they should do better. This could only be solved if the descendant gives offerings or apologizes properly with the help of a spiritual leader.
A Patrilineal Tribe
The tribe places an emphasis on the male members of the clans, as the men are the ones who lead. While it does not mean that women are not important, family lines are passed down through men.
However, when it comes to marriage it’s actually the mother’s brothers that hold a significant role. The uncle would help with the match between the groom and the bride. Because of this, what has been considered an ideal marriage within Tehit tribe’s standards is actually the marriage of cousins.
Dying Language
Tehit tribe’s language consists of twelve different dialects. Some areas use different dialects than others.
For example, the people in Teminabuan itself speak the Tehit Tehiyit dialect. Meanwhile, people living south of Teminabuan more commonly use the Tehit Afsya dialect. People living north of Teminabuan, however, would usually use the Tehit Gemma dialect. Despite the different dialects, these dialects are still considered the Tehit language.However, the people fluent in the language are mostly adults or seniors. Young children of the Tehit tribe tend to not be able to speak fluently. While they can understand when older tribe members speak the language to them, they would often prefer to answer in Indonesian or Papuan Malay.
