Sentani, Jubi – The contingent of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) of North Sulawesi is bringing various vegetables to the sixth Congress of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (KMAN VI) to be held in Papua’s Tabi Customary Area on October 24-30, 2022.
Rikson Karundeng, an indigenous school activist from Tomohon, says it is a tradition named “rukup” or “rurup” that is done as a form of appreciation and respect for the indigenous people of Papua and the organizing committee.
“In Minahasa, there is a rukup tradition. This tradition is a spontaneous, voluntary, and heartfelt action from the community when there are joyful events, sorrow, and other activities in the community that need help from the collective,” said Rikson in a press release received by Jubi on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.
“For this congress, the North Sulawesi AMAN contingent will do that. We have collected vegetables and kitchen spices and are bringing them to Papua,” he continued.
The newly elected chair of the North Sulawesi AMAN Regional Committee, Kharisma Kurama, hopes that this rukup can be accepted and be useful in congress activities.
“We know the Land of Papua is very rich and can feed all participants from across the archipelago who will attend the congress. But we do this as a form of solidarity and respect for the Papuan people and the hard-working committee, who surely will receive us with full sincerity,” said Kharisma, who said he was now at the Port of Sorong, West Papua, on a sea journey to Jayapura.
“The indigenous people of Papua and all indigenous people in the archipelago who will be present at the congress are our families. So we think we can present this tradition at the congress,” he added.
Meanwhile, deputy chair of the Indigenous Youth Council of the Archipelago Omega Pantow, who is also a participant in the North Sulawesi contingent heading to Jayapura and a representation of the Tonsea indigenous youth, said even though they did not bring that many vegetables, they were nonetheless a symbol of solidarity and respect.
“We bring eight sacks of cabbage, five sacks of carrots, three sacks of potatoes, five sacks of chayote, five sacks of tomatoes, two sacks of green onions, and 30 kg of ginger,” Omega said. “These are agricultural products in Minahasa. In Papua, the price is many times higher,” Omega added.
According to Omega, the spirit of the indigenous youth from North Sulawesi to attend the congress was contained in the ‘souvenirs’ that were on their way to Papua.
“Our spirits are shown in the way we prepare ourselves to help the committee, prepare the stage performance, as well as when we harvest our vegetables and carry them in the ship. These vegetables are not much but there is the spirit of us indigenous youth in them that we will bring to the Land of Papua,” he said. (*)