Life in Ayawasi - Part II

Ayawasi is a kampong that is located in the “eyes” of the bird’s head of Papua Island. The people who inhabit the area is known as Aifat which is the sub ethnic of Maibrat. The Maibrat ethnic itself consists of Aifat, Aitinyo and Ayamaru.

Ayawasi plays an important part in the history of the Catholic missionary in the bird’s head of Papua. The Parish of Ayawasi is one of the oldest parishes in the Manokwari-Sorong Diocese. It covers the area such as Mare, Karon and Ayawasi and its surrounding. Ayawasi is an all-Catholic and nearly-all-Papuan kampong. The common family names here are Turot, Taa, Saa, Jumte, Tenau, Kosho, Fanataf, etc. This is considered a tough parish to manage. Besides the remoteness of the place, the people are not easy to deal with, says Fr Buce Takerubun, OSA, the parish pastor. They are very critical and are not hesitant to use violence to sort things out. And when this happens no one is spared from their rage. Not even the pastors. In Fr Buce’s words, this is what they said: “Even Jesus was killed by the Jews. So why can’t we kill a pastor?!” Wow!

Jonathan Fatem, Pr, a previous priest here, was almost stabbed with a spear when protecting a murder in the parish residence. Fr Buce himself experienced the similar thing. During his first 3 month being here, some people came to him with knife blades to protest against the building of a bridge. They wanted it to be built somewhere else. They threatened to burn the church and the pastor’s residence. Instead of being intimidated, Fr Buce challenged them to do exactly that and put the gasoline and matches before them. It worked. They took off.

I remember Fr Tromp once told me that this was a typical “game” of the locals. It is the way they communicate with each others. They shout. They scream. They threaten. But that’s basically a bluff. In response, you have to shout, scream or roar even louder, stronger, or fiercer or else they would take you lightly. Fr Buce knows how to play this game.

In addition, probably like other places in the Papua Island, the people here don’t take orders easily, not even from their own parish priest. They wouldn’t do what they are asked to do unless they see that their pastor is also doing or participating in what he is asking them to do. So it’s quite common to see the pastor carrying cements or stones in the cart or fixing the lights in the church, etc. Even the Bishop himself drove a truck to deliver some stuffs to the construction site in the Seminary. I can’t help comparing this situation with the situation in Java or Flores where pastors, monks, nuns are treated with so high of a respect that they seem to come from a different class of society.

One ex fraters from Flores who had been here before told me how he almost cried when visiting one kampong. That night, he had to sleep in a hole of a sago tree after a very long walk. He said it would have never had happened in Flores. He would have been greeted and treated with a great respect. If it had been in Flores, he might have slept soundly in a clean bed.