Join us for a month of bringing the Island of West Papua to life in your home. Printables, recipes, reading recommendations, prayer points, and more. Come explore the culture and people of West Papua with us!
How to get the most out of Planted seeds
1. Download and print the resource package 2. Display the info graphic and prayer points somewhere where the whole family can see (ours is by the dining table) 3. Pray for the nation of the month each day 4. Pick two or more activities from below. (You are welcome to do them all, but let's be real, sometimes the "extras" just ain't happenin'!)
Pickup some of the recommended books from the library, scatter them around the house, or intentionally select them for read alouds
Plan a night to eat like the Papuans
Locate West Papua on a map
Watch the the recommended videos
West Papua is home to some 312 different tribes including some uncontacted peoples
The History of West Papua: What's the big deal?
In the 1600s West Papua was a colonized by the Dutch and would remain under Dutch control until the 1960s. With the Netherlands under pressure to relinquish the Island, and Communist Russia hovering to acquire territory, the United Nations seized control and handed governance to Indonesia with the caveat that Western Papuans be given a free democratic vote for every man and woman to decide for West Papua's independence, or Indonesian rule. That vote was dubbed The Act of Free Choice, and took place on August 2, 1969. "The Act of No Choice" The 1969 vote as been highly criticized as "The Act of No Choice." The Indonesian government deemed the Papuan nationalists as "too primitive" to vote and hand selected just 1,025 men and women for the vote. Many of these men and women were said to be forced to vote at gun point in favor of Indonesia. The widespread stripping of land, torture and imprisonment of native Papuans, and the stranglehold of control has fueled the fire of West Papuan guerrilla warfare. The actions of Indonesia have been likened to genocide.
Why haven't I heard about this?
The Indonesian government is extremely controlling of allowing any foreign journalists into the country. The wealth of West Papuas natural resources have made other nations reluctant to get involved. The largest gold mine in the world and the second largest copper mine in the world are located in West Papua. The Grasberg mine is jointly owned by Indonesia and an American company, Freeport-McMoRan.
What now? The Federal Republic of West Papua, was formed on October 19, 2011. They have declared The Act of Free Choice vote null and invalid, and are pursuing legal action for the United Nations to recognize them as an independent nation according to international law.
Further Reading
I have tried to abbreviate what I found to be bottomless pit of information I had never heard of in my comfortable corner of America. If your interest has been piqued like mine, here are some links for additional reading. A word of warning: Some of the information out there is quite graphic, be aware that some of these links are not family friendly. I believe these are important conversations to have with our children.
The official website of the Free West Papua Campaign. The group working towards legal review and amendment of West Papua's status as an independent nation.
An Austrailian news source takes on the issue of West Papuas freedom. This is a good article taking on several of the issues that have brought this volatile situation to a head.
A Newsweek article explaining up to 15 month imprisonment Papuan nationalists face just for raising their flag. The comments of the Indonesian leaders are revealing. "Papua is a part of Indonesia forever, and we are willing to die to defend the unitary state of Indonesia."
Spotlight on a Missionary
There is no featured missionary for this month. Politics in West Papua are complicated at best. Please be assured that their are missionaries serving in this nation, but after prayer and discussion we decided not to publish any names as it could potentially damage their ability to remain in country and continue to serve. Please pray for those God is using to reach the nation of Papua with the gospel and sound theology!
And as always, you are encouraged to pray for a missionary from your own church to the Island of Papua.
Recommended Reading
Finding reading materials on West Papua was a real challenge. Many of these books focus on the larger nation of Indonesia as a whole, or the more well-known half of the Papuan Island, Papua New Guinea. West Papua is a combination of tribal peoples similar to the majority of Papua New Guinea, and multi-cultural Indonesian settlers. Please bear this in mind as you read the selections below.
A World Full of Animal Stories, by Angela McAllister - Recommended age 6-9
A humorous anthology of tales from many different cultures, the last story in the book comes from near-by Papua New Guinea and gives the flavor of a Papuan tale. In the beginning of the world all the water is gathered in a giant raindrop in the top of a tree. When an old man realizes that fish can be had from the tree and that they are good to eat, a series of events begins to unfold that ultimately shapes the future of these brand new fisher folk.
Go to Sleep Gecko, A Balineese Folktale by Markarget Read MacDonald - Recommended age 4-8
Gecko can't sleep because of the fireflies, the fireflies blink to keep people from stepping in water buffalo's poop, water buffalo poops in the road to fill the holes left by rain, rain makes holes for the mosquitoes to grow in so that Gecko will have food to eat. Some things you just have to put up with Gecko.
Around the World with Kate and Mack, by Melissa Paredes - Recommended age 5-12
This book is published by Wycliffe and is a wonderful for resource for introducing children to the need for and the challenges associated with bible translation. We are featuring this book again this month as three different Papua New Guinea tribes are highlighted in the text. While not directly about West Papua, some similarities will be evident.
The Gift of the Crocodile A Cinderella Story, by Judy Sierra - Recommended age 3-8
An Indonesian story that is reminiscent of the familiar tale of the poor girl with snobby step sisters. In this version, kind-hearted Damura is gentle and motherly to an infant crocodile and so wins the favor and assistance of grandmother crocodile. She in turn helps Damura into the most beautiful dress, winning the heart of a prince.
Indonesia, by Tamra Orr - Recommended age 8-15
A non-fiction look at the culture, history and geography of the entire nation of Indonesia of which West Papua is a province.
The Quest for the Tree Kangaroo an expedition in the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, by Sy Montgomery - Recommended age 8-16
A nonfiction chronicle of an expedition in search of the elusive Tree Kangaroo. I must confess that we did not read this book cover to cover as it's a bit off topic from the culture and people of West Papua, but I'm including it because it had such beautiful pictures of the Island of Papua and was well worth flipping through for the beautiful photography alone.
Sweeping Tsunamis, by Louise Spilsbury - Recommended age 8-12
Non-fiction book about the causes and effects of tsunamis. One chapter is dedicated to the 1998 tsunami in Papua New Guinea, close to the West Papua border.
Country Explorers Indonesia, by Robin Lim - Recommended age 3-8
A non-fiction book for younger readers to explore on their own. Well illustrated with color photographs, with only about a paragraph of text per page. This book focuses on the entire nation of Indonesia of which West Papua is a province.
How People Live, by DK - Recommended age 6-15
We landed this book at our last library book sale, and have found it to be a good reference point for many different cultures. Two Papuan tribes are featured between it's covers.
Papuan Fairy Tales, by Annie Ker - Recommended age 8-12
I could not locate a copy of this book, but wanted to include it in case YOU can! Material on Papuan folktales is quite slim, and I have a feeling there are probably some good stories in this book if you can find a copy.
Recommended viewing
This video is a great overview of the very confusing geography of the whole island of New Guinea.
This is a Ted Talk by Jennifer Robinson, one of the legal representative for Free West Papua. It is a wonderful presentation on the issues at hand coupled with an inspiring emphasis on the courage to do hard things.
Beautiful video of the birds and rain forests of West Papua. Some of these birds are not found anywhere else in the world! This video also touches on some of the ecological threats to the island.
There is no narration to this video, I included it because it's simply breathtakingly beautiful, and now we all want to go visit!
There is no narration to this video either, but my girls loved watching it. It's really just a travel ad, but well worth the time to enjoy it. My oldest, 8, pointed how what a contrast it was to the lives of the people living there. It was a good start to yet another conversation about the heartbreaking brokenness, and breathtaking beauty, that so often exist side by side in our world.
Recipes
The Papuan diet is made up of fish, pork, root vegetables, island fruits and the products of the Sago palm. Sago is prepared in a variety of ways and is quite labor intensive to extract.
Fish Soup in Yellow Broth
Firm ocean fish (chicken may be substituted)
1/2 onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 mild red peppers, seeds removed
1 inch ginger
1 inch of turmeric
2 lemongrass stalks split in two
1 inch of galangal, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 limes, juiced
1 handful fresh Thai basil
1 liter of water
Salt to taste
Oil for sauteing
Cut the fish to your liking and let it soak in a bowl of water, the juice of 1/2 of a lime, and some salt for 15 minutes. Mince or grind together the ingredients from onion through turmeric. Saute these in oil until softened and fragrant. Add the galangal and lemongrass and saute till softened, add water and bring to a boil, before reducing heat and adding fish. Simmer until cooked through adding salt and sugar to your taste. Lastly add fresh Thai basil and the juice of two limes. This is great with all the fresh spices, but whatever you can't find could be pulled out and it would still probably be pretty good. American limes are generally bigger than limes from the island, so you might want to go easy and just add to taste.
A one pot meal featuring hard root vegetables, pork, chicken, fruit and kale or spinach.
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