West Papua is very famous for its customary and biological wealth as well as many natural resources that must be preserved. With a variety of beauty contained in it, we must always preserve and always protect the environment.
The tradition of burning stones as a medium for Papuan people to stay in touch with their fellow people. In the history of burning stones for the people of the central mountains of Papua is a big feast. But now it’s not only babu, but they also provide chicken.
This is proof that the Papuan people have a high tolerance for religion. They think about the local people who want to join the event but cannot eat pork and they serve chicken or other animals.
The community prepares for this party very early in the morning before the event starts. All the people of West Papua with their entourage came busy preparing stones. Several other communities brought wood, vegetables, grass, and stones.
For the place to cook it themselves, they will make a hole to be filled with stone and burned. Some will also prepare the meat to be cut and cooked. All this is done together while working together.
When the stones are smoldering on the burning wood, the stones are inserted into a hole of approximately 50cm. On the stone will be put grass or vegetables and followed by meat, bettas, sweet potatoes, and bananas into it.
Establishing Friendship in the Traditional Way of the West Papua People
Everyone gathers to conduct friendships with fellow people in the Papua region. They will cook food on a large scale which will later be eaten together with the people present. They also do it together.
While waiting for the food to be cooked, the regent or officials will give speeches and appeals to the public. Hundreds of people came to sit on the ground in groups according to their respective villages or villages.
The people of West Papua will listen carefully to speeches from the regent or local community leaders. When lunchtime arrived, some of the people were tasked with dismantling the stone-burning pit. They cut large pieces of meat into small pieces.
The group representative from each village will come and take each group’s share. Officials who come will get the first delivery of the burnt. And also non-Christian officials who attended will be served grilled chicken meat.
People queue up neatly and don’t fight over the distribution of rations. One of the member representatives will approach the burnt pit and get a share. After that this representative will run to his group to gather and eat food.
Burning this stone is a tradition of the Dani tribe or the Lani tribe. In Wamena, burning stones is better known as kit oba isago, while in Paniai it is called mogo gapil. Meanwhile, in the Papuan coast community, this event is known as barapen.
The Stone Burning Event is Considered a Thanksgiving to God
This barapen or stone burning event is believed to be an expression of people’s gratitude to God and shows a symbol of strong solidarity between the people of West Papua. Burning stones is also a cooking ritual to manifest gratitude.
Burning stones is also a means of staying in touch with family, relatives or welcoming the happy news. Barapen is also often carried out to gather soldiers who will fight and party after the war or even as a medium for group peace.
This ritual is often performed to gather people in processions of clearing fields, births, deaths, hunting, or other traditional events. They organize this in connection with matters that require the mobilization of the masses in large numbers.
The stone ceremony is also a symbol of the simplicity of the Papuan people. The means are equality of rights, justice, togetherness, cohesiveness, honesty, sincerity, and sincerity. Where all this will lead them to peace and unity.
Even in the Muslim community of Papua, in welcoming Ramadan they also carry out the custom of burning stones. However, for their food, they replace it with meat that is halal and can be eaten by the Muslim community in Papua.
Papuan Traditional Houses have Unique Characteristics
Besides being rich in culture and customs, West Papua also has other beauties. One of them is the Hanoi traditional house which is well known to many people. One of the interesting things that people should know about is their traditional house.
This traditional house is a building with certain characteristics that symbolize the culture of an area itself. Honai itself is a traditional house of the Dani tribe in Wamena, Jayawijaya Regency.
These twigs will be made into a round nest for the newborn chicks to keep them warm. From these observations, the Dani people began to learn to build houses that could protect them from hot and cold weather.
Papuan people are known to be able to adapt to the surrounding environment and still take advantage of natural resources. How not, they do live and live side by side with nature because of the natural wealth West Papua
