Pemimpin Tradisional Yei-nan (Gab-elul) di Distrik Muting, Kabupaten Merauke, Papua

Suatu tinjauan antropologis

Abstract

Melanesian and Papuan societies were well known as a world of differences, for instance, in languages, traditions and cultures. One of them which I am going to discuss in this article is the traditional leadership among the Yei-nan, a tribe who lives at the nothern part of south West Papua. In comparison with their neighbours as the Marind anim in the south and the Boadzi in the east, the Yei-nan is a small tribe. They occupy the middle and upper of  Maro river, and a small part of eastern bank of Kumbe river. The fact that they had been able to survive for centuries among the well-known headhunters like the Marind anim and the Boadzi, gave rise the question:  “Why and how can they survive?”

One of the answers is the leadership, which is exercised among the Yei-nan. The leader of a house-community or tribe, gab-elul, is a distinguished figure who takes care of members of his community, so that they can defend themselves and their territory against enemies. Such a leader is not only an expert of warfare, but also he is a leader in economic, socio-political, ritual matter, including those of secret knowledges and religious ones. But he, as I argue in this article, is primary and foremost a person who gives away his wealth and even offers himself for the sake of his community.