West Papua consists of many tribes within its province. One of the famous tribes is the Biak tribe. Biak tribe lives in Kabupaten Biak Numfor. The north borderline is Supiori Regency, and on the south is Yapen Strait, on the west side is Manokwari District, and on the east is the Pacific Ocean.
Biak Tribe
Biak tribe who lives in Biak Island and Numfor are known as mighty sailors, just like the Bugis tribe from Sulawesi. They sailed from Maluku, Sulawesi, Java, and even Malacca Strait. Their sailing habit is because their place is not fertile, leading to competition between people in the tribe. During the dry season, they run out of food because this season tends to be very long. Therefore, they don’t have any plants to be eaten.
Biak tribe are also known for their ability in trading. They rule the trading and political aspects in the places they come to on their sailing journey in some regions of Papua. It can be seen from several cities in West Papua; the names come from the Biak tribe’s language. Those cities, for example, are Manokwari, which comes from mnuk—meaning old city, and Sorong from soren.
Masorandak Tradition
Masorandak comes from three words from the Biak language. “Man” means man (the same meaning in English), so from “beso” which means follow, and “randak” means beginner or first-timer. Hence from those words, Masorandak means someone who is participating/follow for the first time.
Masorandak tradition is a tradition from the Biak tribe who lives in Doreri Bay, Manokwari, West Papua. This tradition is held when a family member comes back home from their work in a foreign city or country for a long time. This tradition is a gratitude symbol because they can meet their family again in a healthy and safe condition and be united. Also, it can be to celebrate someone who is just coming to this place for the first time.
Masorandak Procession
Masorandak is also known for its plate stepping tradition. In this tradition, the person coming home is greeted and accepted symbolically by stepping on their feet inside a Chinese porcelain plate.
A family member who is just coming back home will be showered with flower water. This flower water was stored on a big cultural plate after the family greets that person. This shower aims to cleanse the person from evil spirits that might be attached to the person from the previous places.
After being cleansed, the person will be brought to a special room with his/her big family. In that room, that person will be walking around the nine cultural plates nine times. They use this number because nine is a symbol of the family names of the Doreri tribe in Manokwari.
Next, the person must step on a crocodile made from the soil on a plate. This crocodile is a symbol of challenges and trials that will be followed by that person who is just coming back home. When he/she steps on it, people believe that person can go through all of the challenges and trials in life.
Masorandak is also held to tell people this person is their family so that nature can accept and welcome him/her in the territory. As the newcomer, this person brings an offering, such as betel nut, to the spirits and the local people in the territory.
Wor
Every tradition in the Biak tribe can’t be separated from Wor. Wor is a singing and dancing tradition that comes spontaneously from the people. They believe wor is sacred, and it is a spiritual chant that can raise the spirit from people around them. Besides, it has moral messages as well.
In practice, Wor existence is decreased because the structure of wor is complex. It is hard to find people who can use Wos Bekwar (a high level of Biak language—in Javanese known as kromo inggil).
Masorandak Tradition in Modern Life
Based on the development, the Masorandak ceremony is held by people who come from the Biak tribe after they go to the foreign land for a long time or just come to the area for the first time. However, it is also given to people who are not coming from the Biak tribe as their roots. The tribe might see this outsider as worthy of being greeted with their local culture for a certain reason.
Biak people now celebrate Masorandak without wor, which is harder to get now. Moreover, they want to emphasize the value of family and relationship within this tradition and the spiritual value of gratitude to God (Manseren) because of the given blessing and safety. Hence, they can gather again with their beloved family.
Conclusion:
Masorandak is a unique tradition from the Biak tribe in West Papua. This tradition symbolizes gratitude and blessing for their relatives who just come back to their homeland after their adventure to a foreign land. We can feel the family bond and togetherness in this procession.
