The Origin of Irian Island
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The Origin of Irian Island
INTRODUCTION
The Origin of Irian Island (original: Asal Mula Pulau Irian) is the most famous folktale originating from Papua, Indonesia.
PLOT
The story takes place a long time ago in a village named Sopen, located in West Biak. There lived a family consisting of a couple and their sons, one of whom was called Mananamakrdi. He had scabies all over his body and, when he smelled, no one could bear to approach him. Because of this, Mananamakrdi was loathed by everyone in his ethnic group, including his siblings. Mananamakrdi was forced to leave his house because his siblings could no longer stand the stench of his body and chased him out. He then walked eastward until he reached a beach where he saw a boat and, deciding to leave the island, immediately crossed the vast sea riding it.
Mananamakrdi arrived at Miokbudi island—an island full of sago and coconut trees. He hoed sago from dawn to dusk every day to obtain food, extracted (sweet) water using bamboo, and made rice wine out of the water and the sago. One evening, Mananamakrdi was shocked when he realised that the water he extracted was stolen. He felt nothing but rage. When night fell, Mananamakrdi sat on the midrib of a coconut tree leaf to catch the thief who stole his water. It was almost sunrise when Mananamakrdi saw something shiny in the sky approach the coconut tree where he was waiting. It was the thief. The shiny being settled on the coconut tree and drank all Mananamakrdi’s water. He quickly captured the being before it left. Mananamakrdi questioned what the being was, to which it replied that it was named Sampan, the morning star. Sampan requested that Mananamakrdi release him as it was almost dawn, but the latter did not want to release it just yet. He asked Sampan to heal his scabies and provide him with a lady with a beautiful face to marry. The Sampan was ready to fulfil Mananamakrdi’s wishes and advised that he head to the beach near that forest where a Calophyllum tree grew and, upon reaching his destination, throw a Calophyllum fruit into the sea if he sees a girl he fancies to make her his wife. Mananamakrdi took Sampan’s advice, went to the largest Calophyllum tree on the beach, and decided to wait there. At first, Mananamakrdi could not find any woman whose looks grabbed his attention. However, one evening, he saw a beautiful lady taking a bath on the beach and was greatly attracted to her. He climbed up the Calophyllum tree, picked one of its fruits, and threw it into the sea. The lady’s name was Insoraki. She was the daughter of the chief of Meokbundi Village. The fruit Mananamakrdi threw went near Insoraki while she was taking her bath. Despite being thrown far away, it always seemed to return to Insoraki’s side. Out of frustration, Insoraki decided to go back home. Not long after, something unexpected happened to her: she became pregnant. Her parents and all the villagers were in confusion and could not believe their eyes, for Insoraki had not married and was known to be a pure and innocent young lady.
After roughly nine months, Insoraki gave birth to a boy. The villagers of Meokbundi Village were in disbelief once again—this time, it was because the baby did not cry; rather, it laughed. The baby was given the name Konori and a party was held to celebrate the occasion. Mananamakrdi went to the party, and when Konori saw him, he called Mananamakrdi his father. Everyone was shocked, but Mananamakrdi and Insoraki became a wedded couple in the end. While Mananamakrdi lived in Meokbundi Village, the village chief and the other villagers could not bear the stench of his body and his unpresentable appearance, eventually leaving the village. In the end, the village was quiet and was only inhabited by three people: Mananamakrdi, Insoraki, and Konori. Mananamakrdi sadly accepted it as his reality. He decided to ask for Sampan’s help once more and received instructions in return. He burned a few sticks of dried wood and, when the fire was large enough, stepped into the fire. Magically, he came out free from scabies and had appealing looks. Since then, Mananamakrdi obtained new skills and abilities. He named himself Masren Koreri, which meant ‘a holy male’. One day, Mananamakrdi prayed for a sailing boat. He persuaded his wife and son to sail the vast sea with him. They arrived in the Mandori region, located near Manokwari. The small family decided to live peacefully in the hills. The weather was freezing cold and was covered in heavy fog before dawn, but became scorching hot when the sun rose. Whenever the weather started to warm up, Konori would shout and call for his father, repeatedly chanting the word “Irian”, which means ‘hot’ in the Biak language.
BIBLIOGRAPHY “Dongeng Nusantara — Cerita Rakyat Dari Papua: Asal Mula Pulau Irian.” Dongeng Cerita Rakyat, 20 May 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2021. [Link: https://dongengceritarakyat.com/dongeng-nusantara-cerita-rakyat-dari-papua/]
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