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Thus any measures taken by leaders were not fully implemented by the people and might
have even been met with resistance by the people if the policy was considered unjust or
simply benefitting the ruling party and the Dutch.
In the areas that served as the Capital or the Dutch central government both district
and department, customary educational activities were generally prohibited. Cultural
activities that were considered capable of leading to chaos werebanned altogether by the
Dutch Government. These cultural activities were a means of strengthening the legality
and the status of a traditional leaders, for example in the region of Sorong, Teminabuan
and Ayamaru, where cultural exchange and borrowing returning eastern fabrics was
prohibited. Indigenous education was a means developing the character and personality
of children and as a means of developing leadership, because to become a traditional
leader, in addition to having skills, someone also had to have a good knowledge about
their culture (Yapsenang, 2015).
In the culture of the people of Papua, Maluku and NTT, not everything could be
discussed or disclosed to a child. There were things that could be delivered only through
traditional education. Children who had had a traditional education were the selected
ones. A selected child had more capability than others from the view of traditional leaders.
The banning of traditional education had an impact on the weakening of the role and
functions that could be played by a future leader and a weakening of the legitimacy of a
leader. The result was a change in the existing social structure in society.
After Papua became part of Indonesia, the weakening in the political system of the
Papuans continued further and the government and the security forces banned any
traditional education that still existed in indigenous communities in Papua. This prohibition
was because it was assumed that indigenous education would create cadres of people who
would oppose the Republic of Indonesia. Furthermore, the weakening of the traditional
governance system in Papua, Maluku, NTT, and in other Indonesian regions continued
with the issuance of Law No. 5 of 1974 on the formal government system in Indonesia up to
the village levels. The Act regulates the uniformity of a term used for the entire countryside
or villages in Indonesia into village (desa). The villages which were scattered with small
populations were merged into larger villages (desa). Under this system, villages are led by
a village head along with its apparatus as well as LKMD. This led to having two leaders at
village level in Papua, a traditional leader and a village head as formal government leader,
whereas traditionally a leader had a very large role in the social and cultural life, such as
regulating the land (Yapsenang, 2015).

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