Tribe of Hunters
Before, crocodiles were only hunted for their meat. But today, hunting crocodiles makes money. Once caught, the crocodiles are skinned and their hide sold to Indonesia or to collectors in PNG.
Residents of Manda, Papua New Guinea, bring the head of their prey
In Manda village, Papua New Guinea (PNG), about 10 kilometers from the Indonesian border, I lived with a family of hunters.
Leo Isaac, an old man sporting Rasta dreadlocks, has been hunting since he was a child, while his son Reynold is the most skillful crocodile hunter in the village.
How do hunters catch crocodiles?
“Crocodile hunters only work at night,” Reynold explained. “When crocodiles swim, their eyes are above the surface of the water. The eyes of the crocodiles are bright red, shining intensely like a pair of lights in the darkness of the night."
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Reynold also explained that if the crocodile\'s eyes are far above the surface of the water, it is a large crocodile. If their eyes are close to the surface of the water, it is a baby crocodile. The way to kill a large crocodile is by driving a spear through the part where the head connects to the body.
Before, crocodiles were only hunted for their meat. But today, hunting crocodiles makes money. Once caught, the crocodiles are skinned and their hide sold to Indonesia or to collectors in PNG. From there, the crocodile hide is exported to third countries, especially Singapore and Japan. Therefore, crocodile hunters like Reynold have to be careful with their spears so they don’t damage the skins they will sell.
"Aren\'t you afraid that crocodiles will disappear from the Fly River from overhunting?" I asked.
"No. There are too many crocodiles here,” Reynold answered.
Crocodile hunted by residents of Manda, Papua New Guinea.
***
I didn\'t have the guts to join Reynold on a nighttime crocodile hunt. The only hunt I participated in was hunting in the forest.
One morning, old man Leo and his son-in-law Francis Gradus plus several neighbors and a number of children went hunting. They also brought seven dogs with them.
We departed by boat towards the forest beyond the swampland to the north of the village. The swamp was very quiet with clear water that looked tempting. But Leo reminded me not to touch the water because of the many crocodiles that inhabit it.
The dogs were the most enthusiastic once the boat made shore. The dogs had been deliberately starved so they would chase their prey aggressively. The hunters spread out to surround the prey animals.
The forest was dense, the ground covered with dry leaves. The sun\'s rays did not reach the forest floor because of the thick and leafy tall trees.
Suddenly, Francis started running. "Cassowary!” he shouted. The dogs spread out, while the men hissed loudly, “As! As!" to command the dogs. Unfortunately, the cassowary got away.
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After two hours of hunting, we had not caught anything. I was getting tired. I felt dizzy, my legs hurt. Unable to walk anymore, I sat on a rock. When I took off my shoes, I found a leech stuck to the sole of my foot. The creature, which should have been only as big as a pinky finger, was the size of a palm after gorging on my blood.
Residents of Manda, Papua New Guinea, carry their prey.
***
As they are a tribe of hunters, the Manda people need a large forest to hunt. But they complained that their hunting ground was growing smaller, because most of their customary land is in Indonesian territory.
In Papua’s traditional community system, each tribe has customary land where they live, hunt, farm, and bury their dead. For them, only a tribe can own land, and there is no land in Papua that doesn’t belong to a tribe.
The concept of customary land is deeply rooted in Papuan culture, and was there long before the Western people arrived and divided the vast island to fit international boundaries.
Johny Atabakai, a young man in Manda, explained that the tribal land was the result of an agreement made following a tribal war about a century ago. At that time, war was raging among the subtribes of the Buazi people (called the Marind people in Indonesia), which ended with an agreement to divide each tribal area according to a mountain range called "Urat Tanah Merauke".
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"The mountain range is in Indonesian territory, so the customary lands of PNG’s Buazi people are also in Indonesian territory," Johny explained. Around 500 hectares of the customary lands belonging to the Gakuin and Dokuin clans of Manda village are located in Indonesia.
The problem, Johny added, was that Indonesia\'s development projects had reached the border area, bringing with them plantations, logging and transmigration camps. The tribes in PNG were apparently helpless, and could only watch as their customary lands located in another country were used without their consent.
“I am angry and unhappy. They have taken products from our land while we get nothing,” said Johny.
"Then what\'s your plan?" I asked.
“We want a leasing system. They can cut wood on our land, but we Manda people have to [paid] compensation of Rp 1.5 million per person each month.”
"Will the Indonesian side agree?"
"They have to agree. It\'s our land!”
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
