Papuan Cultural CarnivalEvery year tens of thousands of people gather along the main streets of
Manokwari
town to see or participate in Cultural Carnival. The event is conducted
by GKI di Tanah Papua (meaning The Evangelical Christian Church in
Papua Land) to celebrate the Gospel Preaching Day, one of the most
important events in West Papua. On 5 February 1855, two German
evangelists Otto (together with his wife) and Geisler landed on
Mansinam, a small island in the middle of Dorey bay of Manokwari. They
were the first to preach Christianity to the indigenous Papuan people.
Now the date has been declared and celebrated through various religious
and cultural events throughout West Papua region (before 1963, its name
was the Netherlands Nieuw Guinea which was under the administration of
the Dutch).
Nadia Siregar, an Indonesian girl, began learning Papuan traditional
dance in 1993 when she was still at grade 3 of elementary school. She
likes dancing because she sees that Papua island has many tribes and
every tribe has its own unique cultural characteristics. “They are very
interesting but I only want to focus on the traditional dance,” she
said.
National and International Performance Nadia is now a member
of IRIANTOS Dance Group. Its chairman is George Wellem Yomaki. Their
dance group has 30 members. Together with this group, Nadia has
travelled across the country and even abroad to perform various Papuan
dances. Some of the festivals where she and her friends performed were:
• Papuan Art Festival in Biak island in 2002
• Multicultural Festival in Australia from 14-18 February 2004
• Dance performance in Korror city of Palau islands in 2004
• Theater Performance on the Exiled and Virtual Body in Makassar city from 10 to 11 August 2007
•
Monolog Performance of Makkunrai Project at the Societet de Harmoni
building of Makassar city celebrating Kartini Day on 1 May 2008
• Nusantara Cultural Carnival in Jembrana Bali in September 2008
• President and Vice President of Indonesia’s Campaign Declaration at the Monument of Proclamation in February 2009
• Festival of Folk Theater Media on national level in Malang city of East Java, 30-31 May 2009
• Nusantara Cultural Festival at the State Palace of Jakarta on 18 August 2009
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Paul
spends most of his past time painting, carving, creating folk songs, and trying
to dig the unwritten story and culture of the indigenous Papuan people.
Now
he is working as a member of local government police of West Papua province.
Before that he had been working as Treasurer 2 of the field office and the
cooperative of PT Perkebunan II Manokwari from 2000 to 2009. It is a state owned
Sawit palm plantation company.
Ms.
Marice Fonataba is a hard working Papuan woman. She is a professional
woven cloth maker. Her talent and skill have been recognized by
government officials not only in her town Manokwari but also in other
towns such as Biak and Serui.
West
Papua is not only famous of its Sarang Semut and Buah Merah medicines
which many people now believe can cure various kinds of diseases.
In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace visited Manokwari (formerly known as
Dorey bay) and admired that Papuans were very brilliant artists. In his
report, The Malay Archipelago, he was astonished to see that their love
of art had existed side by side with their “savage” civilization; tribal
wars and cannibalism. Today Papuans are fighting to survive in this 21st
century. They pursue what the whole world pursue, modernism, yet the
modernity doesn’t change their life habit into individualism and
capitalism. They still rely on communal relations, they still love art
and struggling to preserve their cultural identity.
Lucky
Kaikatui is a prolific painter. Ironically, art lovers in Indonesia do
not recognize him. He lives in Manokwari, a small town in the northern
coast of West Papua far from and unnoticed by Indonesian mass media.
The character of this painter is very strong.
This can be seen from the lines that he brushes on canvas. They are strong
and full of meanings. His schoolmates have called him a brilliant
illustrator since he was in the first grade of elementary school of SD
Negeri I Manokwari. When the Dutch were still in Manokwari, this school
was called Klim en Daal. His first drawing, entitled “Pendekar Si Kapak
Hilang” (The warrior of the missing axe), was snatched away by his
friends.
In junior high, Lucky’s paintings decorated the
library room of his school. After completing his study in junior high, Lucky
moved to Jayapura to carry on to high school. Again, in that city, he
attracted people’s attention with his paintings. In 1985, he participated in
a painting competition of West Papua province for high school and general
levels. For high school level he was the best whereas for the general one he
won the second winner. His natural talent draw 
