JAYAWIJAYA, PAPUA PEGUNUNGAN – The value of mutual cooperation has become the culture of Indonesian society in general, because it has been preserved since this country was still under Dutch and Japanese colonialism until it gained independence and was recognized as a country, this culture continues to be upheld today from Sabang to Merauke.
However, in this modern era, the value of mutual cooperation has begun to fade when most of the population of developed regions in the country prioritizes an individualist perspective, but the Papuan hinterland, especially in Jayawijaya Regency, is not the case and still maintains these values and the practice of mutual cooperation has become a culture they are still attached to the customary order.
The Central Highlands Region of Papua still upholds the values of the Indonesian Nation, as taught in Education, Pancasila and Citizenship to always work together, helping each other such as:
- In opening new plantation land,
- Planting crops,
- Building a house (honai),
- Building a fence,
- The ritual of burning stones is always done together because this kind of life has occurred before this region became a heterogeneous area due to the presence of migrants from different tribes and cultures.
“As a child I saw, when my father who was the sub-district head said that if he wanted to build a school here but the place had to be leveled, there were no excavators, there were not enough shovels, but the community only sharpened wood and with togetherness, to dig and shift lumps of soil like passing the baton to other participants,” said Jhon Nap, a native Papuan from the Biak Numfor ethnic group who has lived half a century in the Baliem Valley of Jayawijaya.
To facilitate the coordination of the Papuan people in working together, all activities will be guided by the Customary Chief and for example in terms of clearing garden land, it will be led by the Chief of the Agriculture Tribe, because the Tribal Chief is divided based on classification, namely:
- War tribal chief,
- The head of the livestock tribe,
- Chief of the Agriculture Tribe,
- Party Tribe Chief,
Of course, in this cultural order it cannot be mixed, because when it is mixed it will be difficult and the results are not satisfactory and these values are regulated by tribal heads so that mutual cooperation to build fences, build new gardens can be done. However, it is unfortunate that the value of mutual cooperation in Jayawijaya is slowly eroding with the influence of the current era and must be re-fostered in today’s younger generation so that togetherness is not lost.
One of the modern influences that disrupts the culture of Mutual cooperation in Jayawijaya is the practice of gambling, which is increasingly being cracked down on by the security forces but never has a deterrent effect on the perpetrators, or those who play, so that it can continue to grow in society, “There are indeed things that then interfere with the value of togetherness, for example gambling Togel it makes people then expect instant blessings and blessings are not instant, must go through hard work and it must be shown by togetherness or mutual cooperation,” said Jhon Nap.
Another example of mutual cooperation that can be seen today in the Baliem Valley community, for example when the COVID-19 situation broke out from developed areas to the forests of Papua, especially in Jayawijaya, people who were afraid at that time and then moved away from the spread area and returned to the village to prepare food needs by opening gardens together.
This shows that mutual cooperation is a skill of the Dani indigenous people, they are also peace-loving lovers, therefore peace and mutual cooperation are the legacy left by the ancestors to the current generation and this is real because he is a Papuan from the coastal area, can be accepted to live together with inland residents in Jayawijaya, “When COVID happened, all activities stopped, everyone in the city returned to the village to make a large garden and when I saw it I smiled because COVID-19 made them return to gardening, so the value of mutual cooperation still exists,” said Jhon.
One of the Jayawijaya Government Officials, Laurens Lagoan, admitted that the tradition of Mutual cooperation is slightly reduced but not lost because it can still be found in the community when traveling in this Regency, another example is when there is a certain celebration that can be seen because it is a habit of people in the mountains so that it is always encouraged and still exists.
So that this mutual cooperation is not lost, the government also always advises the younger generation to return to culture, parents so that what is instilled by ancestors can be developed by young people, besides that families, customs, churches have a role to continue to unite the spirit of mutual cooperation both among fellow natives and migrants, “The relationship between Papuans and migrants has been going well so far. Indeed, sometimes there is jealousy, but it goes back to our personality and guidance from the family, if it goes well then we can compete in a good way too,” said Laurenz Lagoan who serves as Head of Wesaput District, Jayawijaya Regency.
Meanwhile, from the side of the Jayawijaya Indigenous Peoples Institute, Herman Doga sees the values of Pancasila from the Jayawijaya community and through the third principle of Pancasila, the unity of Indonesia, the Archipelago people who live in this region must become one with the local community even though all tribes have different customs but become one nation, one homeland so that the Indigenous Peoples Institute strongly agrees to build from a culture of peace.
Seeing the third principle which involves customs, religion, and the government is a pillar that must walk together in government programs that continue to encourage mutual cooperation and indeed it needs to be improved in society so that it continues to be sustainable, “We still support government programs because we are government partners and we, together with the government and the church, continue to walk together, we cannot walk alone because this is part of mutual cooperation,” said a traditional leader.
