Raja Ampat - Origin, Myth and Mystery

Raja Ampat literally means "Four Kings".  The root of the name comes from the four kings that ruled the four main islands of region until the 16th century or so, Misool, Batanta, Salawati and Waigeo.

These kings were not born as natural human beings, however...

As legend has it, there were actually seven eggs.  These eggs,  laid either by a great mythical megapod bird, or by a dragon or crocodile (depending on who you hear the story from), were found by a couple in Kabui Bay (on the island of Waigeo).  One egg hatched a female (who was called Pintolee... what became of her isn't exactly clear, but it seems maybe she was washed away as far as Biak island where she had a child called Gura Besi... who is a hero in his own right), one hatched a ghost who is thought to protect the sea in Raja Ampat, and one never hatched, and became a stone egg... the remaining four eggs hatched the four kings of Raja Ampat.  They each dispersed to each of the four largest islands, and shared the area, living together in peace established by alliances between these traditional kingdoms based on a common origin.  The four original kings were:  War (the king of Waigeo), Betani (the king of Salawati), Dohar (the king of Batanta) and Mohamad (the king of Misool).

Certainly if you speak to anyone native to the area the story still holds great power, and the belief and reverence for the families of these four kings in Raja Ampat is very apparent.  And if you visit the island of Waigeo, you can feel the mystery and power that it holds.

The last remaining stone egg was placed in the 'heart' of Raja Ampat, and can still be found by those worthy of a visit to its sacred resting place, in Kali Raja (The King's River), in between Kabui Bay and Mayalibit Bay on the island of Waigeo.

That's the way the story goes as I was told it by a descendent of the king of Misool.

Laundry Day

Laundry day is every day...  and luckily the 'seven suns' in Papua dry your clothes in mere minutes, no matter where you hang them!  It's a bit ironic, isn't it... the sun that makes you sweat so much you have to wash your clothes several times a day also facilitates that process?

I think the impromptu laundry lines make for fabulous photographic subjects... as you can tell!?

Fantastic Florals

A few fabulous flowers that I saw for the first time in Missol in May...

(i know it's a hibiscus... but a colour-variation i have never seen before...)

... this one I found out after is the tree whose root is used as a poison to capture fish (called "akar bore"):

... and this leaf's waxy cuticle allows perfect pearl-like drops to collect in a light rain.  It reminds me of one of my favourite Khalil Gibran quotes:  I discovered the secret of the sea in meditation upon the dewdrop.

Magical Misool

The Kalabia education vessel has just come back from a two week trip around the North and West areas of Misool... where I learned that actually, Misool is a relatively new name for this, one of the 'four kings' of Raja Ampat (literally 4 kings... see this other story about the name, myths and origins).

On the old charts, and locally, the island used to be known as Batanme, which in the original, local language means 'the land of the Me people', Me (pronounced May) being the original name for the tribe that first inhabited that area (now also called Makbat).

Anyway... I'm super busy right now getting everything in order, but I wanted to share a little bit about our trip (this, from the personal, non-programatic side... ie. some tidbits not included in my official report!)  A little story was also written about our program here.

OMG what a trip…  There must be something out of balance in my life, because I have never had so many issues!  I'll tell you, from bumps and bruises to scrapes and falls, to head lice (or some other thing living on my scalp)(!?), sun burns, a burst blood vessel (or something worse) in my eye... and the very last and strangest... looking like a character from startrek (swollen forehead and eyes???), or better yet, Avatar!  Oh yes, then at the end of the trip, FLU!

But there were some amazing highlights as well, not the least of which were the amazing sunsets, daily!

Our only day off (a holiday only in Papua, for Christ'sAscention), we went to church at Limalas (Dece’s village)... the Eben Haezer Church at Limalas has absolutely the coolest pulpit I have ever seen!  In keeping with the sea-faring traditions of the parish, the pulpit is the shape of a conch shell...

After the service, we kept with the sea-faring tradition as well, and went looking for "bia darah", the not-mis-named 'blood mussels'... when you pry them open raw, they are brimming with blood.   This is one of only two areas in all of Raja Ampat known for these particular mussels...  the most interesting thing about them, however, was not their biology, but the way the locals collect them.  We maneuver slowly into the large shallow bay, find 'the spot', and bury a long pole deep into the ground, tie the boat off, and jump over the sides... crouching, and thigh-deep in mud we plunge our hands up to our elbows time-after time scrunching around in the mud until our fingers clamp around one of the precious 'bia'.  One-by-one, our small group collects enough in an hour for several high-protein, high-iron meals - Certainly low-impact!

Saturated in mud (which, by the way, I am still rinsing out of my bathing suit!), we found the most amazing place to rinse ourselves off!  Spilling into the same mud-filled bay was a gorgeous aquamarine river... we were able to forge up-river through beautiful mangrove-flanked banks, and over lush underwater leafy-blue gardens... after a tight-squeeze under a low log across the river, we came upon a secret secluded opening, where we played in the chilly waterfall and dove in and around the frigid swimming hole.

The mussels that we gathered earlier were made into gou-gou (mussel ceviche; 'cooked' only in a citrus marinade) - a delicious picnic!

A few other notes from this trip in the Magical Misool:

The students in the village of Atkari invited me to go on a fun mini-field trip up the river to their refreshing swimming hole on our lunch break during a day of programming there.

The Kalabia was welcomed by dolphins when we arrived at sunrise at Waigama, and surveyed by them every morning we were anchored there.  In the evenings, a sea turtle took his turn doing the patrol, and once, a crocodile even came by to take a look!

The Kalabia team and crew went snorkeling at the world-famous Blue-water mangroves on the only other half-day of the program - it was completely surreal - like being in an acquarium, the water was SO clear!  It's a very unique ecosystem... corals cling to the roots of the mangroves like in no other area.

The last village we visited for a full program was Aduwei - the home of another of our education staff, Mery.  This was a special treat, since she hadn't been back to the village for years, and people were so happy to see her!  We enjoyed the fruits of the gardens there (my favourite:  rediscovering sugar cane on the deck of the Kalabia!), and bathing in the fresh smooth river!

Oh, and a dive... yes, just one...  I took the opportunity after the expose of the program for our CI International guests, and on the very last hour of the very last day of our trip I had an hour-long dive at the TNC field station... but at least i got in the water!  Not much to see in the poor visibility, although lots of jellyfish were washed in with the storm, but I did catch a glimpse of the classic Misool nudibranch...  

Coincidence or not, after that all my ills were no more!

Now we’re off again on the Kalabia, this time to Waigeo Barat, Gag and Fam… I’m told that an interesting trip awaits us as this area is the centre of the destructive behaviours in Raja Ampat!

Dying or Leaving

here's another pair of words to be sure to distinguish between:

meninggal (to die)    &   meninggalkan (to leave)

telling folks "i am going to die and go home now" just might not leave the right impression!?

BoizeauX in Bali

Yay!  Another visit from family!

First on the scene was my cousin Caroline (nope, not Carolyn my Canadian cousin, but Caroline, the French one!)... whom I whisked away without a thought to the nether-regions of Papua.  She agreed to volunteer on our Education Vessel so that we could actually spend some time together, since I had promised to be onboard during that trip, but the schedule had been slightly delayed and ended up coinciding with the timing of her arrival...

That wasn't such a bad thing, I don't think!  Not many foreigners actually get ALL the way out to the Ayau-Asia Archipelago, and I would argue that it is probably one of the most remote, and still beautiful and interesting, regions in the world.  Anyway, this visit gave Caro an appreciation of where I am working... and also a chance to try Insonem!  (Insonem, a type of earthworm found on the beaches of one of these islands, is a specialty of this particular area!)

After a fabulous time under the "7 suns of Papua" (as they say here - yes, it's always SOOO HOT... if there were ever thermometers that worked I would say it gets well above 40oC easily), we zipped back to Bali for the Bali Spirit Festival.  We were enrolled to volunteer for several days at the Education Station, and were kept totally busy the entire time with kids and chaos!  One day we didn't even get to actually eat lunch!  Anyway, it was fun, if tiring... and as a 'perk' for all our hard work, we were admitted free to a workshop each day.  The full festival pass is WAY out of the price range I would be willing to pay for this, but it really was nice to get a little taste!  We tried our hand (or should I say 'hips'!?) at Bollywood dancing and African dance, and then shook with laughter for an hour at the Laughter Yoga workshop.  Honestly, at one point I thought "I bet this is what it's like living in an insane asylum"!?!


After only a few more days, the rest of the "French connection" arrived on the scene... and so began the rest of the whirlwind Bali tour!

I'm leaving on a boat in only a few hours, so sorry, no time for a lot of description... hope the pictures speak for themselves!

Oops sorry... these aren't US!!!  Although, yes, we did a lot of eating, relaxing, and monkeying around!  Here we are... the classic BULEs:

We had a fabulous time, and stayed on the move the ENTIRE time, seeing as much as humanly possible in the time we had!  It was such a pleasure to have our own car and be on our own schedule with many unscheduled stops wherever the mood struck us!  Including stops to see all manner of foods, fruits, flowers and fabrics (we even made our own batiks!)... not to mention views and sights.  We also went on a Hash and a horse ride, attended a traditional ceremony, watched the sunrise with the dolphins, and had a beautiful hike with a special guide who showed us the heart and soul of the forest surrounding his waterfall.

YosPan & Other Papuan Delights

In keeping with the Indonesian tendency to create 'singkatan*', Yospan is actually short for Yosim  Pancak.  Literally translated:  Drumming Dancing.  They really get right to the point when they name things around here.

Yospan is my favourite local custom… and of course, most people get a real kick out of it when I join in!  It's a little hard to describe, and much more fun than it sounds!  Basically, you grab a partner and form two lines... the 'leaders' do a series of 'steps' while constantly moving ahead and going in a big circle, and the rest of the participants copy the step... Honestly, it's much more fun than it sounds... and a pretty good workout, too!

This is one of the most fun Yospan's I've participated in...  put on for the Kalabia by participants in Warsambin village.



















And here also, a group of children performing a Yospan in Sawinggrai village.















Below is a video of my introduction to Yospan and Papuan music and people (including the late pak Leo on guitar) back in 2006!  It was a rather tight area, but what fun!  - OOPS... sorry, looks like the video isn't working.

I have discovered a new Papuan treat (yes, Bro, I know... "enough with the food already"!):  Sinoli!  I was asked to be a judge at a traditional food competition at the Raja Ampat Jambore in February, and was delighted at so many new tastes!  Sinoli was the winner, hands-down, for me!  A mixture of sago palm flour and coconut with just a little red palm sugar, it's the perfect replacement for GORP (Good 'Ole Raisins n Peanuts).  I know, all tree-planters out there are going... "as if there could ever be a replacement for GORP!"  (sorry no pictures.. I just got my camera back finally!!!)

* Singkatan - means the 'shortening-up'/abbreviating of numerous words; slightly different from an acronym where the first letter of each word is used to form a new word (ie. SCUBA - self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).  There are numerous examples of 'singkatan' in Indonesian... my favourite has to be:  Jumpa Berlian (Jumat Pagi Bersihkan Lingkungan Bersamaan)!

Your Mother's a Virgin!?

Yes, it could only be... another one of those silly little slips that one makes while learning a new language...

Because the word for virgin and nurse are different in only one letter (perawat versus perawan), and hardly audibly distinguishable, a friend went around getting funny looks from everyone as he told them that his mother was a virgin!

Modern-day immaculate conception!?

Something's awfully fishy....

Yupper it is... at the Fish Spa!

I'd heard about this and never thought I'd try it... but there you have it, these spots are all the rage in Kuala Lumpur right now, and it was included in a package at a discounted rate at the aquarium which I was visiting, so I tacked it on... and what an experience.

It was early on sunday morning, so i had the place entirely to myself, which was the best part... all the 'fish doctors' turned their attention on me, and what started out as a very strange, tingling, tickly sensation, turned quite pleasant, and eventually therapeutic!