CULTURE AND SPORT – Jayapura Indonesian Football Association (Persipura) is a football club that is proud of the Papuan people with various brilliant achievements. This club, nicknamed Mutiara Hitam, has four Indonesian League titles. The club’s most successful period was in the early 2000s, when in one decade they managed to win three championship titles. Meanwhile, the last title from Persipura was won in 2013. It can be said that Persipura is a representation of the Papuan people in the field of football. However, in Papua, soccer is culture. As if there are no Papuans who don’t play football. Whether it’s in the amateur class to becoming a professional athlete. Defending the Persipura Jayapura club is the goal of young children in Papua who like to play football. There are values ​​of cultural pride inherent in Persipura.
Starting from the club’s emblem, there is a philosophy attached to the Persipura Jayapura emblem. There are at least two things that stand out the most, namely the Kariwari traditional house and the blue fish on it. The meaning of the Kariwari traditional house is how the traditional house becomes a place of protection, a place to return home, a place to gather, and also a safe place which is a characteristic of Papua. This shows how Persipura Jayapura is the home of Papuan football players. Even though we are in a more modern era, there are still foreign players, both from other regions in Indonesia and from abroad. However, Persipura Jayapura still carries a philosophy as a home that houses all its players. Furthermore, the blue fish on top of the Kariwari traditional house shows the main occupation of the Papuan people, especially the city of Jayapura which is close to the sea. The livelihood in Jayapura is as a fisherman. Therefore, it is represented in the Persipura Jayapura symbol to show how the club receives full support from the Papuan people, the majority of whom are fishermen.
Other objects on the Persipura Jayapura symbol include rice and cotton which represent justice and prosperity in Papua and also three waves, each of which represents custom, religion and government. As a club from Indonesia, Persipura Jayapura also does not forget to show the Pancasila philosophy with the five pillars that support the Kariwari traditional house. Another object is Persipura Jayapura’s birth year, namely 1963.
Persipura Jayapura is not just a football club that originates from Papua. However, Persipura is able to represent how a football club reflects both customs, culture, and even the nationalist values contained in its symbol.
