Page 333 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

Left: Left: People from the Nusantara’s glorious time. Majapahit’s fair name was not seen from a religious point of
Manggarai community in view, nor was it from the structural life of ‘ordinate’ or ‘sub-ordinate,’ but merely from the
Flores Island, East Nusa
Tenggara Province. value of humanity Majapahit always referred to. Thus, in many folktales and stories that
were spread in each ethnic group and area (especially those admitting having been under
the Majapahit) always mentioned Majapahit’s great name as ‘humanity authority’ which
asked everyone and every community group to tolerate each other (Riana, 2009).
In the duration of time that was so long and winding, the underlying factors of
Nusantara spread, with the influence from the oldest kingdoms, to all over Nusantara
as well as beyond, including the Pacific. The soul of life and the perspective of humanity
from the kingdoms during pre-Indonesia time were strongly established in people’s lives in
Nusantara and Pacific. This can be proved by the similarity of people who live in Indonesia,
New Guinea, and the Pacific.

The Value of Prosperity
The meaning of unity and the value of humanity implemented since the beginning always
aimed at gaining prosperity. Majapahit’s great time was described by the author Mpu
Prapanca as follows:
“King Hayam Wuruk with the title of Sri Rajasa Nagara went down to the world to
bestow peace and prosperity to the people and Majapahit Kingdom. Mpu Prapanca
identified The King Rajasa Nagara like Dew Siwa Budha who was worshipped at that time.
He was also compared to Sang Hyang Giri Pati (Sang Hyang Siwa) who was sometimes
called Sang Hyang Adhi Guru, who was believed to be buried in Semeru Mountain and who
was seen as the God of the Gods, sacred, and the one ruled the universe.” (Riana, 2009).
The excerpt illustrates the value of prosperity that always becomes the key word
from the leaders to create a good and conducive life people always dream about. A lot of
metaphors are used to describe an idea of a prosperous life, be it in a physical, glamorous
form, or a cosmic description that shows man’s understanding of physics and metaphysics,
macrocosms and microcosms, real and unreal, the world and sub world, people from then
and now, existing and imaginary, and so on. The most important thing is not the quality of
the painting but the object to be painted, which is the life value about safety and peace in
a life with the climate of togetherness.
The Melanesian people consume tuber plants, tapioca starch, and several kinds of local
food as their staple food. In anthropology, this does not mean to say that Melanesian people
are so poor they only eat tubers or local food. The understanding to read this formulation
should be seen in a different perspective, which is the value of prosperity. People there are

Chapter 9 333

MELANESIA BOOK FA LAYOUT 051216.indd 333 2/10/17 2:11 PM