German finds going native second nature

German finds going native second nature

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): Each time Claudia Lang visits her friends in the
remote highlands of central Irian Jaya, she seldom fails to
notice that they remain as curious about her as she is about
them.

A speaker in the Indonesian Heritage Society lecture series at
Erasmus Huis recently, Lang said that many of the penis-sheathed
and grass-skirted highlanders find it difficult to recognize the
sex of those visiting them from outside their own territory. One
member of the tribe even felt all over Lang's body to determine
that she was a woman!

It is because the variation in attire is along sexual lines
among these people. The sexual separation begins at the age of
five years when a girl begins to wear a little hanging grass
skirt and a boy a koteka (penis gourd) to protect their
respective modesty.

"They watch me silently for hours as I read. They don't really
want to know how I am or where I come from, but are very
interested in what I do," said Lang, a German expatriate living
in Jakarta.

"They are fascinated with all my pens and want to know what I
write. They smile watching me brush my teeth or bathing in the
river nearby. They want to know how I cook and if I always eat
with a spoon."

Adopted by one of the clans that live in the highlands west of
the valley and known as the Dani, Lang was first introduced to
Indonesia's easternmost province by anthropologist Carl G.
Heider's careful description of the Dani in his book Gentle
Warriors, in which he wrote the culture was "trembling on the
edge of change". About a decade ago as a student of ethnology she
saw a film at the University of Augsburg, Germany, on the grand
Baliem Valley in central Irian Jaya and could not get the images
of the landscape and the people out of her mind.

She was naturally ecstatic when she actually came to live in
Indonesia two years ago; one of the first things she did was to
visit the valley of her dreams. She is now preparing for her
fourth trip, along with a group of about 10 other people
interested in visiting her adopted village and trekking along the
lush green valley, dotted with smoking huts and laced with
purple-green sweet potato vines.

Adopted by the clan in a formal ceremony that included a feast
of roast pig and much singing and dancing, Lang is welcomed as a
member of the community now. "I always return back to
'civilization' healthy but extremely unhappy at having to leave."

She said it was difficult to put in words her love for the
people.

The Dani have remained Stone Age farmers who practice ancestor
worship and occasionally engage in tribal warfare. Some of the
western Dani, who settled along the steep valley slopes, have
found work in cities and wear clothes.

They are more "modern" than those in the valley itself who
live on a wide, rich alluvial plain where the wardrobe still
consists of penis sheaths made from gourd, and skirts braided
from natural fibers. The sweet potato is eaten in every form,
from roasted to steamed, and more than 70 percent of the
different varieties are cultivated in the area. They also grow
taro and yams, bananas, ginger, tobacco and colorful cucumbers.

They believe that men and birds once lived together in
harmony, not realizing they were different. As a result of this
former relationship, each clan has developed an affinity with a
particular species of bird which are themselves considered clan
members.

If Lang had the clout and means to do something more, she
would help the Dani to educate themselves and to teach them a
little about the legal system. But she said she would hate to see
them forced out of their natural environment to earn a living.

"They seem most happy when left to farm, hunt and dance," Lang
said.

Those who have migrated to nearby cities and wear clothes look
out of place, lack confidence and seem to have little pride in
themselves, she said.

She does not view the tribal people as uncivilized or
primitive, but merely very different from the rest of the world.
She finds them extremely attractive, sensitive and a very
emotional lot. Despite the fact that the men always get to eat
all of the roasted pig at feasts while the women sit separately
and are left with vegetables and fruit, Lang still loves to be in
their company.

Unlike the Javanese, they do not express themselves in flowery
words nor feel that it is a flaw to show emotions. They express
their feelings of love, anger and happiness with surprising
spontaneity.

Recalling one of her most emotional experiences in the valley,
Lang said that Aman, one of the chiefs of ceremonies, did not
believe her when she promised to return after her first trip.
When she finally did, she said the expression on Aman's face had
to be seen to be believed.

"He had tears in his eyes and love poured out of his very
being," Lang said.

"Elanius is a young porter who helps me during my visits and I
saw him dance with joy when he found me standing before him the
second time."

After flying into Wamena, the bustling commercial and
administrative center of the Baliem Valley, it takes Lang about
three days of walking to get to her adopted village into the
interior, past sweet potato fields, spectacular scenery and
stunning gorges. She sleeps in one of the many round huts used by
women, surrounded by pigs and vegetable gardens.

Inside the hut there is an elevation for a bed that is covered
with soft grass, which is spotlessly clean and extremely
comfortable. Lang said that during her two weeks in the valley
she does not miss her tiled toilet or television. However, some
others feel that the Dani should be "civilized".

When the government launched operasi koteka in an attempt to
coax the Dani to give up their bodily decorations and to wear
clothes, there was a backlash. The Dani also refused to live in
tin-roofed shacks that turned out to be too hot during the day
and too cold at night. Their traditional thatched roofs and
double outer walls help to keep out the heat during the day and
keep it in at night.

She respects them for never asking her for money. She prefers
to give them souvenirs like a key chain or bracelet, but they
seem happiest when she leaves behind photographs and, of course,
the promise that she will return sometime soon.