Each province in Indonesia, including West Papua, is marked with their distinctive cultural uniqueness. In this regard, this westernmost Indonesian province on the island of New Guinea (Indonesian: Pulau Papua) is notable for the role of pigs in many of Papua’s traditional tribes.
Based on this fact, we can begin to understand the traditional and modern significance of pigs in West Papua.
What makes pigs so traditionally important in Papuan culture?
While the nutritional benefits of pigs have been widely recognized, the significance of pigs in Papuan culture goes beyond that. In a region teeming with economic potentials, pigs signify many kinds of traditional significance that are inseparable from the local tribes.
Sociocultural value
Despite pigs’ notable reputation as primary livestock in Papua, the local tribes, such as the Dani tribe rarely consumes pigs for the sake of their daily nutritional requirements’ fulfillment. Instead, they slaughter pigs to perform important societal events, such as marriage, initiation rites, and funerals.
Apart from these events, pigs are also served to greet tourists from afar. On this occasion, the Dani chieftains and the guests will enjoy the pig’s liver dish together as a commemoration of a newly formed relationship.
In other tribes such as the Yali tribe, pigs are utilized as a form of currency and mainstay meat product as well as a signifier of a Yali tribesperson’s wealth.
In Timika, conflicts such as tribal wars and adultery disputes are resolved through using sacrificial pigs in lieu of human lives, as seen in the Arfak tribe. This way, the anger from these conflicts is channeled in slaughtering pigs instead of murdering other humans.
Furthermore, pigs are also used as objects of initiation rites in several tribes, such as the Kamoro and Marind tribes. In this regard, Kamoro tribe members hunt pigs every four to six years as an initiation rite for the men, where Marind tribe members use pigs for the initiation rites for young boys and girls.
Economic value
Compared to other regions in Indonesia, pig farms are more commonplace in West Papua, considering that the Papuan population is the majority of pork consumers in Indonesia.
Aside from pig farms, sweet potatoes plantations are also very important for Papuan tribes, as these sweet potatoes are the pigs’ main diet. However, extreme caution should be exercised so that the pigs will not freely roam the plantations that might cause tribal wars because of the damaged plantations.
Traditionally speaking, the number of owned pigs signify a tribesperson’s economic wealth and status. In the Papuan highlands, when a tribesperson has just recently deceased, the person’s status during their lifetime is measured from the number of slaughtered pigs as the funeral takes place.
The modern significance of pigs for Papuan tribes
As the Indonesian government’s national development has reached West Papua, modern significance of Papuan societal aspects is increasingly emphasized. Such an example of this emphasis is the increased value of pigs for Papuan tribes as a whole.
Currently, the province requires many economic supports that are distributed from other provinces in Indonesia. To alleviate this problem, the government has undertaken special steps to create remarkable economic developments in the region.
Although the widespread economic potential of Papuan pig farms is already recognized, the development is still hampered by the fact that there is still a lack of awareness to turn these farms as a major foundation to their financial income.
Nevertheless, community-building actions have been undertaken in the province so that the pig farms may create more tangible economic benefits for the betterment of the life quality of citizens in West Papua.With the traditional significance that tracks back to the historical times and the modern significance of pigs that may bring forth a genuine increase of life quality in West Papua, we can see how pigs are so important for the lives of the peoples in this region.
