Kami Pu Harta

Lake Sentani

I’ve seen many types of “bridal currency” since living here in Papua, Indonesia - stone axe heads, shell money, porcelain plates, turtle shell bracelets, glass beads etc, but the one thing they share in common is voices falling to whispers as they are brought up and the serious “hush” that surrounds the revealing of the item. These are prized and valuable possessions, handed down for centuries. Sure, a stone axe head isn’t of much practical use these days with the mass produced metal axe heads available in each corner store, and people don’t spend shells as money anymore. But these items are more than just objects. They are tied to the culture of trade and negotiations over brides.

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Mama Bati with Noah

Mama Bati clutched the mass of glass beads in her hands, shooing away her grabby grandson who was desperate to have them. “Jangan!” her normally loud voice fell to a hard whisper as she scolded her grandson and raised her full hand higher, toward me. She looked at me with shining eyes as she opened her hand to show me the beads, strung together with strands of hand spun string made from tree bark. “Ini kami punya harta!” - “This is our treasure!” she whispered again proudly before stuffing them back in her pocket and resuming our walk through Seboiboi, her village on lake Sentani. What does that mean? What had she just shown me? 

Later I would learn more about what the “manik-manik” she had shown me were, and why they were precious and not to be handled by irresponsible grandchildren, but that day it was just another thing that I didn’t understand, another thing to push to the edge of my brain and learn more about later. 

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In Nabire it’s all about the porcelain plates. Hundreds of them! I enjoyed learning about that bridal currency as I celebrated the final payment party for my friend Sofia. The marriage had already happened 7 years earlier, but the full payment had not been made by the groom’s family yet. In the eyes of the local “Mor” community this meant the marriage was not yet official. This can get very complicated and I have no idea how they keep everything straight on who owes how many plates to whom, but they do know, down to the last saucer. The agreed on price is decided by the two families, and is payed by the groom’s side. On this day, Pak Jakson’s family was bringing in hundreds of plates to officially complete the transaction. 

Traditionally, this transaction happens before the wedding, and prices and exchanges are settled ahead of time, but as times change this process is becoming more and more complicated by things like having children out of wedlock, or young couples choosing to live together before a bridal agreement has been made. Running away with a boyfriend or girlfriend whom the family doesn’t agree with carries a lot more cultural drama than you might think. 

​One friend shared that he was really disappointed in his daughter who had gone to university and had a pretty good education, but instead of arranging a proper marriage and earning her family a fat dowry, she had run off with a scoundrel that couldn’t offer any payment whatsoever. With her education she would have fetched a higher bridal price. 
Things get really complicated when a wife dies before the whole payment can be made.
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Back at Jackson and Sofia’s event, the truck loads of family kept arriving, each person’s arms laden with large porcelain bowls and plates, packed carefully with cardboard between each one. They marched them across the porch, swaying along to the tinny sounding music blasting from the speakers and set them, stack after stack, in the “ruang tamu” where all the furniture had been moved out to make room. There must have been several hundred, including several tall “urn” looking pots. Each had a unique design painted on them. 

My friend Dora patiently tried to explain what it all meant. Though this was the payment for Sofia, she herself wouldn’t keep any of the dishes, or even use them. They were given to her parents and family. Later on these plates would be traded when one of their sons, or grandsons made a marriage match. Sofia wasn’t even supposed to touch them, or else something bad could happen to her. She may get sick or become itchy.

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This made more sense now as to why years earlier in Sentani, Mama Bati was so insistent that her grandson not touch the manik-manik (beads). No child is ever to touch the trade items as they believe they could be cursed or cause bad luck. Even an adult should wash their hands after holding an item. In Sentani instead of plates, the currency for bride price is the manik-manik and stone axe heads, along with cash. 

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After the giving of the plates and a yummy feast, the real party began. As the music pumped, the crowd formed a ring and began their shuffle. Swaying back and forth, with knees bent and feet scuffing the ground, they paraded round and round, stopping every once in a while to bend forward and stomp in unison. The music could be heard long into the night after I went home.

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​There is still so much I don’t know about all the details of these transactions, but it’s been interesting to piece together more and more information as I see different people groups here use these items. One thing is true, people are valuable and there has been a payment made for each one! A bride price that no amount of axe heads, plates or beads could ever pay. ​

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