8 Clans from Abun and Mpur Tribes in Tambrauw Conducts Customary Assembly

Main plenary led by 3 young Facilitator from AKA WUON and Marwasnath. Photo: Yunus Yumte

Conducted with the theme "well regulates customary rights from now to reduce conflict in the future" 8 clans from Abun and Mpur tribes who live and acknowledging customary rights over the north cost of bird head of Papua extent from Sausapor to Saukorem are gathered in 6 days started on September 26 untuk October 1 in Waibem villages to discuss on the issues of customary land right. They are clans Yeblo, Yesnath, Yessa, Yengguir, Sundoy, Wabia, Yokser dan Marga Yokson. Beside these 8 clans, joined in this assembly their family from Byak clans Mambrasar and Mofu and Werimon from Yapen those had moved into the coast of Tambrauw for hundred years with long history of civil hongi wars and koreri expedition but has become parts and influence the social values in Tambrauw. Each of them has prepared and came with the information about their clan history, inheritance, territories, customary governance of rights and the institutional structure of the clan and openly discussion to got the agreement and acknowledgement by others. 

Overall assembly went under facilitation by AKA WUON (NGO based in Sorong) and Marwasnath (a new discussion group established by young Abuness). Both groups were did well facilitation and well control the tendency that often raised and psicologically conflict appear among clans once they talked about history and territories. Kundrat Yeudi, the appointed chief of Marwasnath and act as the Coordinator of this assembly on his opening remarks said that this assembly was conducted to: (1) getting comprehensive picture, information and data about history, inheritance that describe the claim over customary land right territories, (2) inventory, sketching the agreed clans territories and building the common recognition of the ownership rights and other rights that binding and recognized is living in community, (3) establishing the community consensus of customary institution governance to creates development climate that advantages to all community interests. He then added "this event is important to have a full recognition based on understanding of each clans territories. Then it should be binding with brotherhoods and solidarity value so the efforts to secure and manage customary rights are happening as a wide community not individual clan. This is crucial to facing the new emerging challenge in Tambrauw as the new districts that in high efforts to accelerate the development".  Metu Yesnath the head of Abun Sub District, who also the adviser of Marwasnath affirmed what Kundrat raised with emphasized "cultures and customary right claim are core parts of community livelihoods in Abun. These have guiding them and will keep control the activities the community are conducted in the land. So this big assembly is a great space and momentum understand territories and values of one and the others. The best result of this assembly will bring positive impact to the government in which all the activities the government is designing and implementing in the areas where land right ownership has clearly clarified and governed by clan can works well in active coordination with the elders and properly manage the benefit distribution". 

Beside Aka Wuon and Marwasnath in the front line as facilitator, this assembly was happening with supported from Tambrauw District Government and Samdhana Institute. This was the 3rd assembly after Miyah and Fef that Aka Wuon is actively facilitating the full process includes control the flows of discussion. While for Samdhana Institute, this was the 1st event they were contributed. But in Fef they had funded Aka Wuon to follow up the detail technical mapping and GIS digitazing for the clans territories been agreed on the assembly. So do with Marwasnath, this was the 1st assembly they were facilitated. 

The assembly was divided into 3 main event: (a) opening ceremony with cultural pigs sacrificing ceremony and then be continued with remarks. (b) workshop forum with discussion as the introductory materials to the main plenary and (c) main plenary/assembly, substance discussion until agreement process. In the pig sacrificing ceremony two main recognized clans Yessa and Wabia from apposite directions follow their customary territories performing tradition dancing while walking into the main assembly hall. The dancing was stopped in the place where pig was provided to be sacrificed. The procession was aiming to call the ancestor spirits and asking for their permission before go with customary assembly. Beside wild pigs the ceremony as also using the "kain timur" a traditional hand made wooden that become a symbol of cultures and tradition clothes of community in bird heads of Papua. 
Preparation to cultural opening Ceremony. Photo: Yunus Yumte

Workshop forum was went in two session: Session one presented resources person from Church leader and Samdhana Institute and in the session two the Papua gender activist and the field facilitator of Aka Wuon were in in the panelist. In summary here are the speakers and their material presented in this workshop: 

• The Head of Klasis GKI Amberbaken. He was shared the church perspective and efforts to build the unity of rights in love. He pointed out that land are always become the problem of conflict, event church building are something facing the uncertainty claim of right by several community. So making sure that the discussion is going peacefully are important and this can be achieved by putting the values of love and brotherhood in the heads of the elders. 
• Yunus Yumte, the Papua Program Coordinator of Samdhana Institute shared the material about legal protection, recognition and governance of customary rights. In his presentation Yunus shared the current opportunity with several national regulation that bringing the certainty for communal rights to be recognized. He also informed the participant about the progress of customary right recognition draft regulation in Tambrauw and asked all the community to accompanying and provides a significant inputs to this draft. Mapping, lesson from other places of which maps is the tools for right recognition are also parts of Yunus presentation. 
• Heni Lani, the Papuan Woman Activist shared the importance of acknowledging women roles in customary right arrangement. Heni emphasized that woman and land in Papua are one packaging of cultural living because women is the one that interacts very often with land. And woman take big roles in educting young generation about cultural values and human development.
• Aka Wuon was represented by Viktor Tawer. Viktor presentation was about "understanding the identity of customary community in Tamrbauw". During several customary assembly Aka Wuon is facilitated he notes that the main enabling condition for the successful discussion are in community and their elders. 

In the main plenary, the discussion was went robustly and serious with a lot of clarification and verification towards information and data that each clan is drafted. To accelerate the discussion on territories and history assembly was managed to spit the groups in to two follow the main clan. There was one group in Yessa that bring together, Sundoy, Yesnath, Yeusi, Yeblo and Yengguir on the discussion. Also Join in Yessa the groups of Mofu, Mambrasar and Werimon. While the other group is for Wabia and Yeblo Kre. Once they finished in the groups the result were took into the main plenary to be presented. 

Group discussion as side event of main plenary - talking about territories. Photo: Yunus Yumte

Until the end of the event there was remain disagreement among several clans because the problem of right of ownership recognition. Ones Isai Paa as one of the key steering person at the end of the event pressing all the leader to arrange follow up the dicussion after the assembly to agree upon their data and information. He aware that ended of the assembly are not as they were expected but this was the optimum results they could do. For those clans that social and right claim issues have been agreed on the next steps that Aka Wuon and Marwasnath will do is technical GPS mapping and final GIS digitizing. 

Situation in the main plenary hall. Photo: Yunus Yumte