ARTISTIC GAZE OF TWO PAPUAN CHOREOGRAPHERS: VISUAL PERSPECTIVES ROOTED IN THE ORAL TRADITIONS OF THE KAMORO AND ASMAT TRIBE

This article is based on the artistic practice of two Papuan choreographers trained in the Jakarta Institute of the Arts Dance Study Program. Both based their choreographies on their traditional roots which were presented as site specific performances in their respective villages. The choice of visuals and dramatic bodily expressions created by them, though a new dance design, was based on their deeply ingrained roots as indigenous Papuans. The roots called upon to be reinterpreted as choreography were based on the oral traditions they grew up with as part of their identity. The focus in this article is on the work by Martinus Akai from the Asmat tribe performed in 2013, and the work by Alfo Smith from the Kamoro Tribe performed in 2018. The purpose of this study is to understand the way Papuan choreographers ingrained in their cultural heritage reimagine the traditions passed down from ancient times through their ancestors. The research done by the choreographers was in the context of revisiting the rituals and ancestral narratives and interpreting for a contemporary expression. The research done for this paper was based on discussions had with both the choreographers during the process of creating their individual work. Among the methods for collecting data by the choreographers for creating their work was field research, observations, interviews and personal memories experiencing their cultural heritage. The observations by the writers for this article were during the creating process in the studio and on site and viewing the end results both as presentations and site specific performances..


INTRODUCTION
Choreography is a part of dance making. In the art of making dances, to understand a choreographers view point, it would be also to understand the culture from where he or she comes from.To quote Judith Lynne Hanna (1979) 'to dance is human and humanity almost universally decision" (Zegwaard. 1959(Zegwaard. : 1020, "the basic principles of Asmat philosophy, that death is the prerequisite of life" (Rockefeller. 1967: 39), "It is not a pleasant sight, a people totally indifferent to your presence: people educated but without a place in their own society, Mimika strikes a person as a dead area filled with zombies. There is no work and no interest in work. Religion of the past is no longer celebrated and the Christian religion means nothing to the people. The past is gone forever. The present lacks vitality. The future holds no hope' (Trenkenschuh 1970in Karen Jacobs. 2011. Other views which are connected to the political tensions in Papua will not be discussed in this paper, although in discussions with the two choreographers, simmering underneath a cheery and smiling exterior, an invisible tension as to how their selections for making choreography will be received in Jakarta, is perhaps an extension of the" years of being stigmatised.peoples" (Siregar et.al. 2013: 20). This disturbed feeling guided their choice amidst the gate of freedom of expression in the dance study curricula at IKJ, to return to their cultural heritage for the base of their artistic creativity. We would like the World to Know Us, is the sum of discussions with them.
Papua people dwell in the tropical jungles, large rivers, long vast sandy beaches alongside the Arapura sea. The Papua hinterlands are divided between two provinces named Papua and West Papua. The people residing in these provinces are the indigenous tribes and the migrants to these lands. The indigenous folk or the suku asli of Papua, are the Asmat, Mappi, Muyu, Mandobo, Marin, Kamoro, Amungme, Dani, Paniai, Arfak, Bentuni, Ayawasi, Ayawatan, Biak, Yapen, Waropen, Sentani and others. These tribes are divided into clans that dwell along the beaches, and in the hinterlands.
The first choreographer, Martinus Akai is from Asmat. The Asmat peoples have 12 clans those are, Safan Piri, Betsmbup, Bismam, Simai, Jeorat,Unir Sirao, Kenok, Siret Sire, Joepmak Yain, Korowai, Sawi dan Kaikar. Each clan has its own ritual that is similar to the other clans rituals, and some are different. The Safan clan in the Biapis village interested the choreographer discussed in this article because it is the clan where he has the role of chief overseeing the villages in all the Safan. In the Biapis village there is the Ipai ritual that contains the meanings and philosophical beliefs of the Asmat. These are based on the existence of spirits that he calls setan which are present in the life of humans.
The Asmat dance culture is based on the stories of Ji Atam. These stories give direction and purpose to the Asmat. Atam is the history that explains the heritage of the Asmat peoples. According to Martinus Akai, the pillar of Asmat culture is Ja asamanam apcamarthat, that means "walk in balance'. The meaning of this philosophy is to balance the Asmat way of life by safeguarding the traditions which must not be left behind despite building developments. The Asmat are aware of not being alone in this life for example; "bila kami berjalan dalam suatu tujuan kita harus menoleh ke kiri, ke kanan, ke bawah dan ke belakang menjaga kemungkinan masih ada sesama yang menderita di sana." (If we walk in one direction we must look to the left, right, below and behind us for it is possible there are ones that are suffering in those places). (Martinus Akai, 2013) The Asmat have unique and distinctive dance movements, music and sung poetry. Nearly all Asmat dances are connected to rituals and ceremonies such as Bisi, Firau, Wuramon, Ulat Sagu, Ipai among others. Dancing to the Asmat people means a ritual process that cannot be pulled apart from their daily lives. Dance is not just for entertainment but more important for the Asmat, dance is part of the process of ritual itself. The second choreographer is Paulus Yanyaan whose stage name is Alfo Smith and will be used as is he prefers. Alfo is from the Kamoro tribe in Papua. There are two references about the Kamoro tribe, namely Power (2010) and Jacobs (2012), but the two writings discuss the Kamoro tribe in general in comparative studies among other tribes and as an ethnography to collect objects as Kamoro tribe representations and discuss the Kamoro Tribe from the perspective of cultural anthropology.
Alfo's work is based on the traditional dance called Seka. The Kamoro tribe is one of the tribes in the Mimika Regency of Papua, now known as Timika. The Kamoro tribe is a fairly wellknown tribe and has a unique cultural attraction including sculpture and Seka Kamoro dance which is the oral tradition of the Kamoro in Papua. The Kamoro live in the coastal area of West Papua (Power 2010).
This research data collection techniques are done by observation, visual and audio documentation, and discussions with the choreographers, and a journey to Papua to review the performance presented by Alfo in Timika. Due to limitations the performance in Asmat by Akai Martinus Akai could not be viewed, and the choreography was presented again later on but with changes adjusting to the venue in Jakarta. The performance in Jakarta will not be discussed in this paper which will focus on the works presented and performed as site specific choreography in the natural environment and communities in Papua.

Ipai Pambi choreographed by Martinus Akai
This dance work is based on the spirit traditional ceremony which in the language of the Asmat Clump Safan Village Biapis called Ipai. The title I gave for this final work is Ipai Pambi to differentiate from the traditional rituals. This custom is based on a ceremony which is a reflection of the philosophy of the Asmat people's lives regarding their beliefs, which also expresses a sense of togetherness that binds the feelings in the Asmat tribe. Biapis Village is located in the Safan clan where the Ipai performance was held on May 24, 2011 in Papua.
As the choreographer himself explained; "The tribe that will be raised through my final work is the Asmat. I am an Asmat son who wants to elevate the Asmat in terms of culture. Ipai will be the foothold for my final work by maintaining the Aesthetic and Artistic values of the tradition that are expected to bring the Asmat spirit in accordance with the Ipai event as in its original environment even though it was staged in the District Capital City. The audience is expected to be attended by the Asmat community, officials and also guests from domestic and foreign as well as of course the examiner's team of lecturers from the Dance Study Program (S1) of the Performing Arts Faculty of the Jakarta Art Institute." (Martinus Akai, 2013) International Review of Humanities Studies www.irhs.ui.ac.id, e-ISSN: 2477-6866, p-ISSN: 2527-9416 Vol.

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Ipai is a traditional performance which is part of the community rituals The Ipai ceremony is carried out by the Biapis village community of the Safan clan to commemorate the spirits. In addition, the Ipai ceremony was also held because it commemorated an event or was also held to warm the situation of the village because the elders or the adat council felt that the village was quiet.
The preparation process for the Ipai starts 3 to 6 months previous to the event. When the time of the event arrives it is ended with an all-night dance called the para-para, only then afterwards, can the peak of the Ipai ceremony escalate. At 5 o'clock in the morning the dancers gathered to begin the makeup then the Ipai ceremony is held until 12.00 noon. Usually the Ipai ceremony is held in front of Yae the traditional house of the Biapis village community.
The form of Yae is a long house inhabited by parents, especially widowers, teenagers and children at certain times. The long houses are devoted to men, hence all who inhabit Yae are men. The women live in the family home in the village. The role of Asmat women in Yae are restricted only to entering the long house at certain times such as delivering food, morning and evening for her husband and children. Whereas during the day, they deliver food for the elderly who look after Yae and when certain traditional festivities and ceremonies are taking place. During the ceremony children are not allowed in Yae because it is not yet time to be accepted to participate in traditional ceremonies or rituals. In order to be accepted as a participant in the events, the child must go through an initiation ceremony. Inside the Yae long houses that have been around for generations, are filled with objects of ancient cultural tools that are stored there. These objects are believed to contain meaning and sacred power. And are usually guarded by elders (tawuapakewe) or the son inlaws or brother in law.
The direction the Yae long house must be facing is towards the front of the village and towards the river. Yae forms long architectural structure and high above the ground as protection from wild animals and overflowing tides from the sea. This buildings function is as: (1) Place of education, (2). place of consultation, (3). place of ritual, (4). also as a place of worship. For the Asmat community, the Biapis Safan clan village considers that the traditional ceremonies and worship of the Church are a unity in the spirit that there are forces outside humans. So the Asmat people in general and specifically the Biapis village, of the Safan clan, thanked God that this life and cultural wealth was given by Him so that during the traditional ceremony this ceremony was also a symbol of the beliefs and beliefs of the people.
Ipai is one of nine large traditional ceremonies that are generally accepted among the Asmat indigenous community. These large ceremonies also contain the identity of each Asmat family and must be centered on Yae. Besides these nine large ceremonies there are smaller ceremonies that serve as rituals of memories of certain events. Below is a picture of Yae's house.

Choreographic Concept
According to the choreographer the reason for choosing the movement of the Asmat tradition contained in the Ipai is because this ceremony is deeply embedded in his memory and is an inseparable part of the life of the Asmat people. This tradition became a part of his personal life so that inspiration emerged to create a new creation based on this traditional feast.
" I think that the movements of the Asmat dance tradition with the development in them will be part of strengthening the Asmat cultural identity in the form of contemporary dance. One of the developments made in my final work is the concept of staging. The Ipai tradition is carried out in the forest without any boundaries between dancers and spectators. As a development the show was held in the Capital District where there was a stage that was provided. Stage form is semi arena. The audience circle the stage like the letter U. There will be space between the stage and the audience in addition to the stage space." (Martinus Akai, 2013)

Choreography Structure
In this final work, the performance has several scenes: Scene 1: Song and para-para dance performed by the tifa drum music player with dancers who sing and dance to the tifa accompaniment starting from the night before, until the morning at 5 in the morning. This dance will be performed around the performance area. Scene 2: Tifa rhythmically beats accompany singing Ipai songs, a sign that the peak of the Ipai party is rising.
The chieftain of the tribal council leads the way to meet and capture the demon setan in hiding. The floor pattern when the group arrives at the setans hiding place is a triangle. The meaning is to give passage to the setan: Pola lantai ketika tiba di tempat persembunyian setan berbentuk segi tiga. They sing and the words mean the setan has been captured and will be driven to the Yae long house for playing with the spirit. The setan spirit then appears. The women dance greeting the men of the tribe that have captured the demon whereas the dance escalates into a fever of throwing at the setan objects such as sanapi sticks from wood, mud, wheat, gepe-gepe, Then there is playing catch by the children chased by the setan. The closing scene of Ipai is the letting go of the Spirit with a farewell speech and mantra chanted by one person trusted by the chief of the Biapis village, and chosen to be the next chief. The other dancers stand in a straight line with community spectators behind the demon. Scene 3: Setan-setan, the name of the spirits, is picked up from his hiding place to be delivered to the stage by four tifa drum musicians with several dancers. The number of dancers consisted of 10 people divided into 5 male dancers and 5 female dancers. Scene 4: This scene shows the highlight of the demonic game of the setan-setan spirits. In this game the spirits and humans throw at each other wood pieces called sanapi, and also the mothers (female dancers) hit him with gepe-gepe dry mud. The event of this scene is done in the middle of the audience. The title given to this work was Ipai Pambi which means the feast of Satan to distinguish from the traditional Ipai. The ornaments, costumes and props used in the Ipai represent the livelihood of the community such as looking for fish (traditional fishermen), looking for Sago, traditional carving art, weaving

Spiritual values in Ipai.
The Biapis (Asmat) people believe in demons that are considered to live with humans spiritually. According to the Biapis (Asmat), demons are divided into three dimensions: 1. the original devil: functions as maintaining the balance of nature 2. demons of the spirits of other living things and objects in the Asmat realm function as a liaison or information provider 3. demons from spirits of the dead: function as a blessing for sustaining and protecting and protecting. Thus as communication with the spirits there are ceremonies and rituals.

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Biapis art is contained in the ceremony. In the ceremonies there are dance, singing and stories. Stories are told directly orally through myths or indirectly through songs, dance and carvings. The story in the dance can be an explanation of the history and legend of a character who lived in the past who contributed in a village. His life history is remembered and made in the form of parties, dance, songs.
The Ipai ceremony is a ceremony to commemorate the spirits.The elements of Dance, Music with a percussion instrument called Tifa, include Song which is a literary expression uttered rhythmically. According to Akai, the words are old language which apparently not everyone knows the meaning, including the singers of the song.
The face is decorated using white chalk, red chalk and wood charcoal. The form of makeup has meaning. Her clothes are daker or called susur saine (loincloth for both men and women) in different shapes according to the traditional adornments such as Cuscus skin, bird feathers, cassowary feathers, rattan anklets and bracelets. The spirit or setan-setan clothes is woven from a special wooden tree bark

Dance Movements
Dance movements in the Ipai ceremonies use the word for dance in Asmat language which is generally and specifically in the local language, Ndi. Ndi refers to the parts of the body called upon to move such as: Ndi nako (the two feet), ae pater ndi (

one foot), asine ndi (hip), juku fe ndi (hip), mane ndi ( dance movement for both hands), mane taka ndi (dance movement for one hand) atau mane pater ndi (one hand dance movements)
The dancers learn the dance technique through participating in every ceremony and ritual in the village so they inherit the dance through generations of learning. The energy of dancing is as if the spirit of the dance gives the warmth of fire and an external strength enters the body. The rhythm of movements synchronize with the tempo of the music becoming faster or slower according to the beats.

Body of the Kamoro choreographed by Alfo Smith
The choreography titled Body of the Kamoro was created by Paulus Yanyaan who is more popularly in dance circles known as Alfo Smith. This young Papuan from the Kamoro tribe was born and raised in Mimika, Timika Papua and an accomplished hip hop dancer who made it into television performances whilst in Jakarta. While studying in the Dance Study Program at the Institut Kesenian Jakarta 2013-2018, he also joined a dance group called the Animal Pop Family as a dancer.
The work discussed in this paper is based on the Kamoro Seka dance which is a social dance and performed in ceremonies greeting dignitaries and honored guests, also as an attraction for tourists eager to enjoy cultural performances. Apart from the functions mentioned above, the Seka dance has sacred values in the Kamoro life as a respect paid to the ancestors and forms a space in the natural environment of the Kamoro. The Seka dance is a narrative of the origins of the kamoro tribe. The experiences of the ancestors are embedded in the local wisdoms that inherently contain stories of the religious beliefs, brotherhood, clan (suku), marriage International Review of Humanities Studies www.irhs.ui.ac.id, e-ISSN: 2477-6866, p-ISSN: 2527-9416 Vol.

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rites,proverbs, kamoro language, and toleration between religious groups. The religious beliefs of the Kamoro tribe are still tied to the traditional life and values until this day. The Kamoro uphold highly respect to the ancestors and the rituals that must be conducted in supplication for intentions. The rituals of these kinds are for example ritual for asking for rain, for the sun, before going out to fish, before planting and harvesting sago.
Everything in Kamoro life is always connected to the rituals and in the bodily movements that seem similar. The distinctions are in the songs that are sung in the rituals. For example if in a ritual for requesting rain but the song sung is for the sun, then it is believed that it would automatically not rain but the sun would keep on ablaze. The Kamoro also believe in not only the sacredness of ancestors, but also in the air, land and sea such as the birds in the air and the fish in the sea. The ancestors govern over the land.
The Kamoro view religion as a unity in all aspects of social life. Until today the Kamoro traditions are supported by the Catholic Church as a form of cultural preservation to develop and bring advancement to the Kamoro through the arts and culture in the district of Mimika (Pickell. 2002: xix) On the 15th March 2018 the choreographer of Body of Kamoro flew from Jakarta to Timika and on the 21st March 2018, the choreographer flew to Asmat to conduct further field research and met with Martinus Akai the choreographer of Ipai Pambi to interact and have discussions.

Selecting Dancers for the Choreography.
The choreographer for the work Body of Kamoro conducted a selection process for the dancers to participate and be major dancers in the process to performing the choreography in Papua. The criteria was not only a good dancer by academic dance training but be by character, from the same environment as the choreographer, a good name as a dancer or choreographer, good discipline, dedicated in team work, responsible, willing to give and take in the context of process, knowledge and experience, a serious attitude in rehearsals, not talkative out of context, having a well built body and strength, dark skinned to symbolize the skin of the Kamoro The role for dancers in the Body of Kamoro was divided into two that were academic or professional dancers and traditional dancers indigenous to the Mimika district. The reason was connected to the choreography creating process and concept chosen for performance as site specific meaning it would be performed in the natural environment of the Kamor tribe. The staging was open air so the spirits of the Kamoro tribal strength could be felt by all the dancers, traditional or academic.
Basic movements of the Kamoro Seka dance are the moving of the tips of the toes, the dancers stance is looking downwards to the toes, back and forth toe to ankle, left and right stepping diagonally. The toes are pressing the earth to gain the strength to stand.The fingers are raised above, sometimes turning, some times in a fist, sometimes suddenly opening and the fingers stretch till the web between the fingers can be seen. The torso is pushed forward in alignment with the toes. The eyes are calm facing towards the direction of the body. The arms stretch but the elbow is aligned with the waist and two hands during the process in standing and always by the side, to the left, right diagonally and upward. In a sitting position, the legs are crossed. In a squatting position the balance is stressed onto the In the creation of dance works certainly have the structure of the concept of choreography. The Body of the Kamoro dance work itself is divided into 4 choreographic parts as follows:

Scene 1: Life force (Sampan)
With the sampan boat, the Kamoro tribe can overcome life problems such as;Economic Needs,Social Needs, Religious Needs. The Sampan is so important for the Kamoro tribe. Sampan has quite extensive functions and roles, namely as a symbol of life force, as a traditional means of transportation from one village to another, and from city to village or vice versa. With the existence of the sampan, the Kamoro people find it easier to make a living for their daily lives. Kamoro's life is a journey that must be strengthened in gratitude, thank you and love. The life and daily life of the Kamoro people who depend heavily on nature is a gift left by the ancestors to this day and the Kamoro tribe also highly appreciates whoever will enter the Timika region. In the scene one shows the life and daily life of the Kamoro tribe such as:1.Fishing rod representing In the process of fishing for fish, there are two dancers who carry out their daily activities, which stand on the edge of the river, using traditional fishing lines or ropes tied to a bottle. And thrown into the river while waiting to get fish.2.Look for sago wormsThe process of finding a sago caterpillar, there is a dancer who while splitting a dead sago tree to search. 3.Look for tambelo caterpillars. This daily activity consists of two dancers, one male and one female who walks into the forest while looking for mangrove trees that are ready to be split. 4.Catch the shrimp There are two female dancers who use tumang (a traditional tool to catch shrimp) to catch shrimp, both Burn the sago ball sequence. The fire in this activity was prepared before the show until the first scene. Fire as lighting for the strength and support of the performance. Beginning the dancer will continue to be in the arena beside the stage. In the form of the concept of cultivation is as material for burning sago, a dancer sits while forming sago to be round using his hands to be burned. Climbing trees sequence. In climbing trees here are divided into two, namely the first, looking for a internet network to make a call, and the second to see something or whatever is happening in the far front, left and right while shouting or singing.

Make a fire
In this scene, there are four dancers who will search, arrange neatly like a bonfire to burn and the embers will function to burn the Kamoro tribal ball sago.

Voice (story and scream)
Storytelling and screaming here are four dancers, two female dancers and two male dancers standing or sitting telling stories and shouting (shouting as a symbol of freedom in land ownership. Running and walking scene. The performance area is in open air, so the dancers walk and run like a Kamoro tribe who exits and enters the mangrove forest to earn a living or to cross from one time to the next.
Singing and playing a musical instrument sequence consists of one Kamoro tribe singer and one musical instrument while dancing, directing each dancer who was previously arranged by the narrator about the life of the Kamoro tribe while dancing into the arena and going out of the arena. Each dancer enters the arena from every appropriate angle.

Scene 2: Soul Power (River)
Spirit has worked with nature and nature has worked with spirit meaning that the soul of the Kamoro people depends on nature, not because of mere belief or suggestion but this is inherited from the ancestors of which nature is their second soul. In the Karapao ceremony which is an initiation into maturity, a member of the Kamoro tribe experiencing this ritual will feel possessed suddenly and run to find another Kamoro as a process of transferring soul force, natural force, ancestral power or spirit to the next Kamoro person as a sign that the person has entered maturity.
The three elements mentioned above are expressed through the philosophy of life "Eme Neme Yauware / United, Brothers We Build.
Scene 3: A dancer splashes another dancer with water, sand and shouting as a symbol.
These gestures symbolizes the power which is the Kamoro tribe, that this is the spirit strength of the Kamoro ancestral spirits and the ancestral power spirits have united with the souls and spirits of each dancer. Kamoro tribal spirits were always there and will never be consumed by time. Photo: Alfo

Scene 4: One Kamoro Clan
In this fourth scene the dancers were calm because the spirits of the Kamoro ancestral power have fallen so that the dancers begin to know the background of the Kamoro tribe by touching fellow dancers and turning east, west, north and south as a united tribal Kamoro brotherhood .
In a calm moment in the fourth scene a traditional Kamoro tribe enter the stage and give a welcome sign to the four academic dancers and six lecturers of the Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ) as a symbol that the Kamoro Timika Papuan tribe accepts as one Kamoro tribe in the Amungsa Bumi Land Kamoro Timika Papua.

Processing the Senses
In the creation of a work the choreographer focuses on the senses. According to the creator of the Body of Kamoro, a sense of the work is very important, therefore the choreographer always instills a sense to the dancer through motion. Every movement that moves from one point to another then the breath will be drawn in and vice versa move the breath it will be released by all dancers as a form of spirit strength in the body that continues to work to become a unity in person or group. Photo: Alfo.

CONCLUSION
Based on the discussions above, it can be seen that the rituals of initiation, daily lives, interacting with spirits are an important reality to the Papuan choreographers. Although they have both experienced training in making choreography in a modern dance sense, they both choose to articulate and make a performance space in their respective communities. They hope that pride in being Papuan especially as an Asmat and Kamoro and the energy of their heritage will bring a further understanding between themselves, the communities and the Others in the cultural spaces beyond Papua.