Aru, the Trail of Ancient Migration

KOMPAS/AHMAD ARIF

Residents of a traditional Takpala village, Lembur Barat in North Alor Tengah district, Alor regency, East Nusa Tenggara, welcome the arrival of guests. Genetically, 90 percent of the Takpala people’s genetic structure is that of Papuans and the remaining is Austronesian. This genetic trace is told in the mythology of their origins.

DOBO, KOMPAS — Aru Islands, Maluku, is home to archeological heritage that is tens of thousands of years old. The area was reportedly the trail of human migration to Papua and Australia, which, until 8,000 years ago, were still one huge continent.

To understand the migration process and the assimilation of humans in Aru, the Eijkman Molecular Biology Institute of the Research and Technology Ministry carried out research took genetic samples of the Aru people.

“The [genetic samples] are very important to completing the genetic map of the Indonesian people,” said Eijkman deputy director Herawati Sudoyo Supolo in Dobo, the capital of Aru Islands regency, on Friday (1/12).

For the past 16 years, the Eijkman Molecular Biology Institute has mapped out around 70 percent of Indonesia’s genetic makeup. In addition to discovering the origins of the Indonesian people, the genetic map would also be used to know their vulnerability or survival rate against certain diseases based on genetics.

In a previous research, it was found that Papuans have a higher resistance against malaria than people living in western Indonesian. This is because of a high rate of ovalocytosis mutation, which makes the blood cells oval-shaped instead of round. The mutation also boosts the blood cells’ robustness, preventing malaria parasites from invading.

Malaria parasites cannot live in oval-shaped blood cells. As soon as the malaria parasite invade, the blood cell will break up. This is a form of self-protection technique against malaria but, the body will develop anemia as a result.

Ovalocytosis only occurs in Southeast Asians, mainly in people living in areas with a high endemic of malaria. Ovalocytosis is very common in people with the same genetic variation as Papuans. For example, in the people of Alor, can be found in 8 to 13.4 percent of the population. In Sentani, Papua, it is 7.6 to27.2 percent. In Java, only 1.4 percent of the population has this mutation.

Oldest in Maluku

In the past few years, Herawati said, the Eijkman Molecular Biology Institute’s research has focused on the Wallacea Zone and Papua.

In the Aru Islands, which is in the Wallacea Zone, it is important to see the genetic assimilation of Papuans and Austronesians and its impact on the cultural aspect of the province, as well as the people’s resilience against genetic illnesses.

On the micro level, the research on Aru Islands is expected to provide information about the origins and migration of people in that area. Aru has a strategic position in the trail of ancient humans when the Sahul Shelf, consisting of Australia and Papua, was still one large continent. Aru was also part of this large continent.

The suggestion that Aru was part of Australia and Papua was proven by British botanist Wallace in1869, as evidenced by the similarity of flora and fauna in those areas. Aru was separated from Papua and Australia when seawater rose to 150 meters around 9,000 years ago.

Despite this condition, Ambon Archeology Institute archeologist Marlon Ririmase said the research on Aru archeology is “very limited.”

Therefore, Marlon said he hoped the genetic study on Aru would complete archeology data to reconstruct the genetic map of its people.

Research by Sue O’Connor from the Australian National University in 2005 found human fossils in the earth’s layer from 23,000 years ago in Lemdubu Cave, Central Aru. This is the oldest fossil found in Maluku.

As we all know, humans started to inhabit Papua and Australia around 50,000 years ago as part of a from Africa. There is a high possibility that around that time, Aru also became inhabited.

(AIK)