Page 263 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

other services are popping up. There is an improvement in the standard of living and an
increase in local employment, compared with 10 years earlier.

Some Changes in Local Culture
Before making contact with outsiders, the population of Papua, Maluku and East Nusa
Tenggara had utilized local materials as a dowry, for example, bracelets, earrings and
necklaces made of bia (shell) skin, cloth woven from bark, boats and oars, and even human
heads from head-hunting. After the trade contacts between the people of Papua, the
people of Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara, Chinese, Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish
and English, some local materials in Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara such as Timor fabrics
were used by several ethnic groups in Papua as dowry, as well as items that were considered
unique such as beverage bottles, antique plates, jars, cannon, ivory, and gold. In Biak and
its surroundings, dowry materials were previously acquired, not only as a result of trade,
but also a result of plunder and headhunting.
In addition to trading in dowry gifts, contact between the people of Papua, Maluku
and East Nusa Tenggara, there was the adoption of some musical instruments and dances
from one culture to another. For example in the Onin in Fakfak, musical instruments used
are the ukulele and the gong, which is a traditional musical instrument of Maluku, and
dances such as the cakalele mbreh dance in Onin area, which also exists in Maluku. Besides
that, there is a musical instrument that is almost the same such as Tifa in Maluku and
Papua. Tifa is one of the most important musical instruments in the culture of the people
of Maluku and Papua, as well as flutes made of Bia bark. Another musical instrument is
Pikon. This instrument is found in East Nusa Tenggara and Papua, but it has become very
scarce now. With dance, there are similarities in the dances of Pangkur Sagu (Papua) and
the tokok sago dance (Maluku). According to DR. Christ Fautngil a language expert from
Cendrawasih University in Papua, the relationship of the people of Papua with people in
Maluku, Nusa Tenggara can also be seen from the bow and arrow dance.
Changes in education have taken place since the presence of Portuguese and Dutch in
the 16th century in Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara. In Papua, change began to happen
only in the 19th century when the Dutch began their reign in 1898. The Dutch prohibited
traditional initiation schools and replaced them with civilization and formal schools. In line
with the development of human resources, in subsequent years, the people of Maluku,
East Nusa Tenggara and Papua themselves became teachers for VOC and the Dutch
schools in the region. This led to improvements in human resources in all three areas. Some

Chapter 6 263

MELANESIA BOOK FA LAYOUT 051216.indd 263 2/10/17 2:11 PM