kutamaya

While domestic and foreign tourism in Papua flourishes on the perception of “primitive people” living in “remote” places, rapid urbanisation is creating new social, economic and political communities and activities in many towns across the province. Though some of these trends have been distinctly Papuan, others are formed by pan-Indonesian or even global influences. One of the earliest examples of this new fusion emerged in the early 1970s with the creation of Papuan String Band music by groups like Black List, Black Papas and the Black Brothers, who were hugely popular throughout Indonesia and the region (see www.chmsupersound.com/cds/cd_006.htm). The success of Papuan musicians and cultural groups continued in the 1980s with the regular performances of groups like Mambesak at the Museum Loka Budaya at the campus of Universitas Cenderawasih in Abepura until the group was forced to disband in 1984 following the murder of Arnold Ap and Edie Mofu, two of Mambesak's founding members . Although there are a range of contemporary cultural forms in Papua they still have a limited presence on the World Wide Web. The 2003 Free West Papua Concert in Melbourne (see below) included the first international appearance of West Papuan group "Spirit of Mambesak" and gave the group an opportunity to record a CD of their music (see www.mana.com.au/blackparadise/the_group.htm). The regular appearance of cyber "mops" (a specific form of joke popular in Papua) reproduced from Papuan newspapers is another example of how residents of Papua are bringing their culture to the Web (see www.infopapua.com). These also increasingly circulate among communities in Papua and abroad via other internet technologies (such as emails, newsgroups and weblogs).

Sport and youth groups. The importance of sport to many young people in Papua is reflected in the success of Papuan soccer teams in the Indonesian national league. Divisi Mandiri (www.sepak-bola.tv/teams/e_standing.sps), Divisi 1 (http://home.hetnet.nl/~persipura/persipura/pers_div1.htm) and Bola (www.bolanews.com) give information about the game in Indonesia and rankings across the archipelago. More information about the premier local soccer league Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura or Persipura can be found online (www.go.to/persipura). In other sports, Papuans have also achieved remarkable successes, despite often limited training facilities. Representatives from Papua have consistently performed well in competitions of the Southeast Asian regional martial art Pencak Silat (for more information about this sport see http://talio.homestead.com/History.html) and in the 2000 Olympic games Raema Lisa Rumbewas was awarded a silver medal in the 48kg class of women’s weightlifting (check her current ranking according to the "International Weightlifting Database" at www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/scripts/dbweight.exe?site=5&SpID=21000043). Such achievements strengthen local pride and team sports like soccer can provide important activities for Papuan youth groups (such as Yapikbi, or the Foundation for Biak Youth at http://rumsom.tripod.com) and local chapters of pramuka (scouting movement) while helping to bridge ethnic difference in many of Papua's cosmopolitan towns (for example www.wpu-fc.faithweb.com/main.html). Sport also features along with cultural activities in the lives of Papuans living abroad (see Olah Raga Papua (http://httpd.chello.nl/~r.kirihio for news on sport among the Papuan community in Holland).

Contemporary Papuan culture abroad. Papuan culture is also represented overseas through small and dispersed communities in exile in the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Australia and elsewhere. The Netherlands has the largest Papuan community abroad and some Dutch (for a variety of reasons) maintain relationships or sentimental attachment towards Papua communities and cultures. This is reflected in the range of Papuan cultural groups in Holland as well as the many Dutch civil society groups that support Papuan communities in Papua. Arnold Ap Stichting, or the Arnold Ap Foundation (www.geocities.com/arnoldapfoundation) is an example of a Papuan cultural organisation based in the Netherlands and is hosted on the Sandiki Papuan performing group homepage (www.geocities.com/sandiki_groep). Other Dutch-based Papuan cultural performance groups include Sampari Dansgroep (http://home.planet.nl/~papu/Sampari.htm and http://home.wanadoo.nl/sorong), Korwari Dansgroep (http://home.planet.nl/~papu/Korwari.htm) and the music of singer Edo Kondologit (www.home.zonnet.nl/pauldin/music/edo.htm) who also hosts the Pop Papua homepage for Papuan music (http://home.planet.nl/%7Elokho029/Pop_Papua.htm). More traditional music from Papua, such as "Wor" from Biak Island, has been released on the Smithsonian Institute "folkways" recording label (www.folkways.si.edu/40426.htm).

Contemporary Papuan fusions. Today Papuan cultures are influenced by and influence forms of cultural expression beyond the localised boundaries of Papuan towns and villages, or the activities of Papuans outside Papua. This effect is suggested by the relationship between Papuan culture and global tourism evident in some of the websites listed earlier (in the section on tourism). More conspicuous and deliberate cultural fusions are apparent in the works of various non-Papuan writers, visual artists and musicians. Fons Bloemen (http://home.hccnet.nl/f.bloemen/book/in.htm) has a webpage about "first contact" which features illustrations from the artist's book that incorporate text and images from three centuries of exploration along the SW coast of Papua. Roy Villevoye has been working with some intriguing themes among Papuans from the Asmat region (see www.fassbendergallery.com/pvisions/pvisions98d.html, visit the "art project" at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde www.rmv.nl or read a summary of some of his work at www.jong-holland.nl/1-2001/summary1-2001.htm). Boris and Conny (www.typ.nl/B&C) is a "lifestyle journal" with poetic and philosophical reflections on Papua and Papuans written by Jan Dietvorst, another Dutch artist/ filmmaker who has spent significant time in the Asmat. Another artwork inspired by Papua and its people is Marjolein Kruijt's painting for a West Papua festival held in the Hague in 1999 (www.geocities.com/Marjolein_Kruijt/wallpaintings_project.htm). Ursula and Gunter Konrad, long-time Asmat Art collectors (see earlier section) are collaborating with German sculptor Vaago Weiland and other artists Christiane Behr, Detlev Ilgner and Ingo Wegerl in a "Trans Art Culture" project (www.asmat-art.com/tcp/austellung-04.htm) which juxtaposes traditional Asmat art and imagery with modern themes and materials. Other direct references to Papuan elements (particularly from Asmat) can be found in the work of Frank Herrmann (www.art.uc.edu/FUZZY/fac_herrmann.html) and Suzanne Tornquist (http://tornquist-art.com see the Indonesia page) and in the works of famous Indonesian artists such as Sunaryo (from the strongly nationalistic DECENTA group of the 1970s) to the mixed media work of younger Indonesian artists like H. Hardi. The power of Papuan artistic traditions is also acknowledged by other artists like Ade Agus Tirtayasa even though this influence is not always apparent in such works (www.palette.co.nz/images/gallery/adea/main.html.

More peripheral examples of cultural fusions with Papua include the "Koteka saxaphone" music of Richard Johnson in THE TANK (gourdophone - 1 - 2 - 3) and in the recent "Make it Now" and "NowNow" performances of experimental and spontaneous music (see www.thenownow.net), the use of Asmat motifs for exported commercial batik (www.bigonbatik.com/plus/housewares/tablecloths/oblong.html), jilbabs (http://adeela.industradegroup.com/jilbab_asmat.htm and the pseudo "primitive" style carvings from Bali that are often exported as authentic carvings from Papua (www.magiscraft.8m.com/prod03.htm. Other examples include the playful cartoon for the Dik Voor Mekaar Show record single (www.dedikvoormekaarshow.nl/pa-papoea.htm - visit here if you want to close your browser!), Toshi Kenzo Maidepa's "Papua Midi files" (simple electronic music at www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/bay/3507), and are suggested (but apparently not realised) in the appropriation of the name Irian Jaya by a couple of musicians based out of Glasgow (http://hspun.com/ij.asp). Clear examples of Papuan cultural influence fused with internet technologies can be found at the Papua Nieuwegein homepage (ID: http://home.planet.nl/~papu) with elaborate webpages that include images, video, and even games like "bunu yamuk" (kill the mosquito).

[ www.papuaweb.org ]