The Hatam Tribe in West Papua is a group of local tribes living in the Arfak Mountains, Warmare District, Manokwari Regency, West Papua. They are categorized in the Arfak tribal family. Generally, the Hatam Tribe is classified into three groups or clumps, namely the Moile, Tinam, and Urwam Tribes.
The three groups or clusters were then subdivided into several clans or clans based on family ties. They are Mandacan, Wonggor, Ullo, Ayok, Indou, Saiba, Iwouw, and Nuham. They spread to several sub-districts in the Manokwari Regency. The regency such as Ransiki, Waren, Momi, Anggi, Warmare, and the center of the Capital City of Manokwari Regency.
Specifically, they spread from Ransiki west of the Anggi lakes to the boundary around Manokwari City. Their villages are also located in the north and on the coast. Meanwhile, Tinam is in the upper reaches of the Ransiki river to Sower in the south and Urwam in the coastal areas north of Oransbari.
Hatam Tribe in West Papua, a Sub-tribe of the Arfak
Hatam tribe lives in the Warmare District, Manokwari Regency, West Papua. The region is astronomically located at 015 north latitude and 325 south latitude, 13445 east longitude, and 13235 west longitudes. The area where they live is 37,901 Km2 with different topographical conditions.
Some are in the form of coastal and mountainous regions. I has an altitude of 495 m to 2985 m above sea level. Most of the mountains in this region are grouped into the Arfak mountains, with an area of 68,325 ha. In the mountainous area of Arfak, the Hatam Tribe lives.
The Hatam Tribe’s settlement is in the middle of the Arfak mountain forest. As with the views of other ethnic groups in Papua, the Hatam tribe considers their land and forests taboo. Forests, for them, have a religious meaning, are untouchable, and have past, present, and future dimensions of time.
In the land and forest, this tribe spent their life. It can be it social, cultural, religious, economic, or political life. The land becomes the bond of relations from one generation to another of the Hatam Tribe.
No wonder the Hatam tribe in West Papua labeled the forest as diyebei dinieknye. It means land or forest that provides all their needs. Sincerely, the forest provides food for the children of the Hatam Tribe. The forest in the middle of the Arfak Mountains is a place for them to depend on in all aspects of their life. They spent interacting almost their whole life in the forest.
The Tradition of Land Ownership
The Hatam Tribe in West Papua is one of the oldest tribes. They have a patrilineal kinship system and recognize land ownership rights from generation to generation. Land in the life of the Hatam people is controlled communally or together with the landlord’s existence.
The tradition of inheritance of land is significantly developed among the Hatam Tribe. They believe that all land in the Arfak Mountains must have an owner. It is even though the condition of the land is rocky and swampy. Landowners are usually extended families, nuclear families, and individuals.
Farming Activities
They rely heavily on their livelihoods through the forests and cultivating rice fields. They also carry out hunting activities for “flesh” animals that can meet their need for protein. The traditional farming system of the Hatam Tribe is very conventional but has undergone a significant change since the 1970s. It is when transmigration programs were widespread in the state. They began to implement a more “modern” land management system. It happened after seeing the skills of the transmigrants in cultivating their land.
Wrapping Up
Before modernism and villages formed in Papua, the Hatam tribe in West Papua had lived in small communities. The communities consist of 15-20 people from a common ancestor. They come from a broad patrilineal family, where they feel they have the same hereditary relationship.
In their structure in the past, there were communities whose leaders were chosen by themselves. To get this position, a customary leader must have authority. He must be a senior, and has extensive knowledge about the condition of ancestral land and the community’s social needs.
