Jenny Morin (ist)
By : Jenny Morin
Member of Numberi Center
The Papuan Customary Council (DAP) after holding the 11th Plenary Meeting on October 9, 2022 inaugurated the Governor of LE as the Head of the Papuan Land Tribe at the residence of the Governor of LE in Koya Tengah, Muara Tami District. When he inaugurated the Governor of LE as the “Head of the Tanah Papua Tribe” this was related to adat, indigenous peoples, customary law and customary law communities. Moreover, this title was given by the DAP, an institution that represents 7 (seven) customary territories in Papua. This inauguration must be in accordance with the customs of the customary law community that have been recognized and have been passed down from generation to generation in each customary territory throughout the Land of Papua.
The definition of adat, customary law, indigenous peoples and customary law communities is explicitly stated in Law No. 2 of 2021 concerning amendments to Law No. 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province Article 1 letter o, letter p, letter q, and letter r as following:
Letter o states, Adat is a habit that is recognized, adhered to and institutionalized, and maintained by the local indigenous community for generations;
Letter p, Indigenous Peoples are indigenous Papuan people who live in the territory and are bound and subject to certain customs with a high sense of solidarity among their members;
Letter q, Customary Law is an unwritten rule or norm that lives in customary law communities, regulates, binds and is maintained, and has sanctions;
Letter r, Indigenous peoples are indigenous Papuan people who since their birth have lived in certain areas and are bound and subject to certain customary laws with a high sense of solidarity among their members;
It is important for us to understand that the Land of Papua is an area inhabited by indigenous peoples which is divided into 7 customary or cultural areas and consists of 254 tribes, namely as follows: Mamta/Tabi as many as 87 tribes, Saireri 37 tribes, Bomberai 19 tribes, Domberai 52 tribes, Ha-anim 29 tribes, Mee-pago 11 tribes, Lapago 19 tribes.
In the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) a tribal chief is defined as a person who becomes the leader (king) of a tribe. This is in line with the large Dutch dictionary compiled by Susi Moeimam and Hein Steinhauer which uses the word “Stamhoofd”, namely tribal chief. No one writes about the major tribal chiefs in the Land of Papua. Since the first, every tribe in Papua has a tribal chief who is chosen from their own tribe in accordance with their customary methods and rules.
G.J. Hero Mengatakan, “Tribal chief is the man of their own group, of their own tribe” – Kepala suku adalah orang dari grup mereka atau suku mereka sendiri.” (De Papua Cultuurimprovisator, The Hague, 1951:hal.16)
G.J. Held also explained the results of his research on the oldest known keret/marga in Numfor in 1814, namely Anggradifu, Rumberpon, Rumansara and Rumberpur from each clan/keret having its own head. From the research of DR. G.J. Held against the Byak tribe in the Saereri customary area, shows that each Byak tribe has a clan head / keret who will later be chosen to be the head of the Byak tribe or Mananwir Beba Byak.
The election of Mananwir Beba Byak was done through the stages of a plenary session by the Byak Kankain Karkara Assembly/Byak Custom Council. In the Raja Ampat region used under the Tidore Sultanate is the King or Sangaji, captain of the sea, captain, Majoor and others who are appointed directly by the Sultan of Tidore for cooperating with the Sultan. Another example is in the interior of Papua from the results of Dr. J.V. de Bruijn says, “De clans Zonggonau en Koberau die hier wonen, behoren to de grote Migani stam.” – The Keret/Marga Zonngonau and Koberan here are part of the large Migani tribe. (Het Verdwenen Volk, Bussem, 1978: Pages.60)
From what Dr. J.V de Bruijn in his book we can see that in the interior of Papua, each tribe has its own clan or clan. This was also explained by Drs. H. Eggink as follows:
First, Clan or Marga/Keret is a group that is united because of one clan from generation to generation. The Keret/ clan in Raja Ampat is called Djilet, Biak Numfor calls Keret, Marind (Merauke) calls it Boan, in Nimboran it is called Tang, etc.
Second, in addition there is the Head of the Village (Dorphoofden) and the Head of the Clan/Keret.
Third, the customary head is only known in Holland (Jayapura), Sentani, Tanah Merah and Teluk Cendrawasih.
Fourth, in the western part of the island of Papua (Nieuw Guinea) the tribal chief is known as the Raja, namely the group in Misool, Waigeo, Salawati and Waigama. In Fak-fak, among others, Raja Rumbati, Raja Patipi, Raja Fatagar, Raja Arguni and Raja Kaimana. (De Aardrijkskunde van Nieuw Guinea, J.B. Wolters, Graningen,1956:pages.21)
Thus, the people who live in the 7 customary areas have their own peculiarities and there are only traditional heads, tribal chiefs or the designation of kings. There is no Chief of the Great Tribe to represent them. What is explained by Drs. H. Eggink agrees with the explanation from the Secretary General of the Papuan Customary Council (DAP) Leonard Imbiri that:
In status, the Basic Guidelines and Operational Guidelines for DAP do not recognize the term Head of the Big Tribe or Head of the Big Tribe of the Papuan Nation. Because the Chieftain is at the tribal level;
DAP only recognizes two things, namely, First, the term Chairman of the Papuan Customary Council or the Leader of the Papuan Customary Council for the Land of Papua level. The DAP status states that the DAP authority is in the Tribal Chief and above the Tribal Chief there is only God. The tribal chief or clan chief is equal, so there is no tribal chief above another tribal chief.
Second, the term inauguration is only used in tribal or clan positions that are hereditary and are carried out in each tribe or clan according to their respective rules and procedures.
Each tribe in the Land of Papua elects its tribal chief and the tribal chiefs who have been elected to represent their tribe then form a Regional Customary Council according to their customary territory. Then the regional Customary Council formed the Papuan Customary Council (DAP) as the center for traditional organizations or institutions representing tribal chiefs from 7 (seven) customary territories in Papua.
DAP was established on 8 February 2002 with the duty and responsibility to protect the rights of the Papuan Indigenous People (OAP) without entering into the realm of practical politics. (The author is a socio-political observer living in Jakarta)
Source : https://reporter.id/2022/10/17/kepala-suku-besar-tanah-papua/