It was June 2012 that become my 2nd trip with Bang Martin Hardiono for initial mapping discussion we spent almost 7 days stayed in Papuma and Ansus. It takes about 3 hours with the long motor boat to get this place. And if you are someone comming from West Indonesia, the best ways to reach this place is by plane from Biak and then take small rural airplane to get the City of Yapan. Join in the big meeting of about 32 clans the visits was aiming to helps community in West-North of Yapen Island to have a customary boundary maps. Combination of social discussion, ground checks and desk maps analysis were conducted with full supports of the customary groups in Ansus and Papua. Clans like Kayoi, Arronggear, Woniana, Atururi, May and Raweyai were part of the groups those rights and history were conveyed and recorded. During the visits beside focused on the keys responsibilities on Mapping, we were also enjoying the wonderful of the West Yapen island beauty of nature, foods and local drinks. Fresh fish delicious sago with alcoholic drink or people in Ansus called it with Bobo are parts of the stories been taken away from this trip.
Wooden Water House
The picture above is how the houses in West Yapen is looks likes. People are mostly prefer to build their house in the waters, I don't get the reason maybe because they try to protect them self from 'Suanggi' - some people says 'Suanggi" are afraid of sea water. :-). Some reason also said that because this helps them to parking their canoes. All building material they use is easily to collect from the bush around the village such as woods, bamboo, nipah, sago leaf and rattan. The long wooden pier are made to connects all the houses the big poles are punch in the mud to help the pier construction. The size is average with wide 8 x 9 meters with mostly two bedrooms and one kitchen inside. Some people also constructing big houses with more that 2 bedrooms.
As a new person that new in the piers like this, I was walked carefully because was worried with the strength of the woods they use to construct the pier. It is mostly the hard wood such as Merbau (Intsia, sp), Matoa (Pometia Sp) and Langgua (Dipterocapacea). But i saw kids and young people are walking and run with out worrying for felling down to the waters that surrounding the houses. I was also amazed that this one meter wide of piers are the ways babies learned for walk. In the night sometme the people whose has got hardly drunk are walking without afraid I think its because they usually doing this for years so have knowing how to do well steps even though you're hardly drunks.
Wooden Villages With Long Pier to Connect The Houses in Papuma VillageDespite of the condition that for some people like me are dangerous the house location in the bays are a good location to get the fresh air and smooth winds blowing though out the seas and forests. In the day and night the cold air could influence you eye to closes for a while and laying down in short sleep --- Fantastic--. In the afternoon the piers become the beautiful spot to enjoy people paddling their canoes to reach the house from they garden, sago plots or from fishing.
Small Wooden Canoes
Since the community are living in the floating houses in the bay, canoe is the transportation vehicles that almost all household has. The canoe I meant is the small woods canoe with length not more than 4 meter and wides 30 - 40 cm. It is moving with small paddle being moved by the drivers. Its always a peace lovely afternoon or early morning if we want to enjoy the beauty of people paddling their canoes arrive and leaving the villages. It can occupied 4 - 5 peoples average. Community are often using this canoe to takes fish, crop vegetable, crop fruits and sago from their plots that become the domestic needs of the community.
Fish is always become my favorite foods but not all fish I like. One of the best and delicious fish I ever tastes is 'Samandar Papan Ansus". Unfortunately I forgot to capture the fish I meant. But its one of the coral with with sweat tastes. The best ways to serve it by fried or roasting. In Ansus we can easely find this fish in the local market with price between 10,000 - 20,000 rupiah for 5 - 8 piece. Another best cuisine i loved here is Papeda dan charcoal sago that always be served with yellow fish soup and water spinach. The fish prices and vegetables and affordable prices puts me on the part of keeps buying the fish and sago from the local market in Ansus Village.
Sago is the traditional foods that all people in the low land of new guide are harvesting and cultivating for foods. It is "PAPEDA" the name of the sago powders cooked with hot waters and serve in the big plates for the groups of people to enjoy it. Papeda has become and icon of tradition and identity of cultures and has become one of the most consuming foods together with rices and yams/cassava. Sago is growing widely in the swamp of the village in this west Yapen and has dividing based on its owners. Beside Papeda, sago powders can also be processed become "cake/cookies" and charcoal sago mix with coconut that all are serve with frees salt water fish with delicious tastes. Even though most of the community have their sago plots but there are also people selling sago and the one has processed in the Ansus Market where we can easily found in low prices.
As a beverage "Bobo' a local alcohol drink processed from nypah trunks are mostly close the nigh of social event with the people - particularly man. A 'Bobo' can be easily found in the villages when people using traditional method to processed it become alcoholic drink. For some point I realized Bobo was the enter doors to talk with elders about the land rights and communal land conflict issue and I did that in Papuma Village to explore more info about Aronggear and Koromat clans history. Bobo is selling closely because it is banned by the Government and sometime police do sweeping for the villages security reason. Most people believe that 'Bobo' is a words water that can stimulate people to be braves and talks much about any issues even though his/her personality is a silent man. It is recommended to enjoy Bobo at night before you sleep. For me its like beer in modern economic society where people takes while creating a good conversation about something. But for you people in Bali or Jakarta, don't expect to find a Bar or cafe with Bobo because there is no cafe/bar here. If you want to enjoy Bobo you have to come or visit the community houses and sitting with them in the quest room of some place they usually setting for relax and enjoy Bobo.
Beside Sago, Fish and Bobo, West Yapen is also a home of different kinds of fruits. Let says Durian, Cempedak (wild jack fruit) and Langsat. But most of it are seasonal. When the time comes people are mostly not able to finishing big amount of fruits they have and Biak is usually become the choice for people to selling this products. To close this session one thing that you should taste is 'Pinang" or bitter nuts fruits that people always loved to chewing it. Red juice coming out from the mouth like vampire drink your bloods are the pictures of people chewing bitter nut. hehehe. Me personally don't like bitter nut but always love to see how majority Papuan are addicted with this "snack". Ansus and surrounding village are also the home for bitter nuts where people cultivating it or collecting from the wild. Beside foods, coffee and cigarettes, bitter nuts is always served to welcome quests or have a meeting of people - we do experienced this in our meeting. To enjoy bitter nut you needs to have sirih and kapur (powder made from burned shell) as its complement because you cannot produce the red juice with out Sirih and Kapur.
Bitter nut fruits from Toweta Village in West Yapen
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