The Origins of Papua’s Bird of Paradise

The Origins of Papua’s Bird of Paradise

Asal-Usul Burung Cendrawasih

A long time ago with an old lady who was in the forest and was very hungry. The old lady had not eaten for several days. She walked and walked in the jungle looking for drinking water and food. Finally, feeling dizzy with hunger and beginning to lose hope, she saw a pandanus tree and ate the red fruit growing in its center. This red fruit is a uniquely Papuan food, and modern medicine recognizes its benefits as it is rich in beta carotene.

Zaman dahulu kala dengan seorang nenek tua yang kelaparan di hutan. Nenek tua ini sudah beberapa hari tidak makan. Dia berjalan terus di hutan sambil mencari air minum dari sungai dan makanan. Akhirnya, karena sudah pusing dan mulai putus asa, dia melihat pohon pandan dan memakan buah merah yang tumbuh di tengah tanaman tersebut. Memang buah merah merupakan makanan khas Papua, dan kedokteran modern sudah mengetahui khasiatnya karena kaya akan zat betakaroten.

It turned out that the old lady found the red fruit very filling and she began to eat it often. However, she was shocked several months later when her stomach started to grow bigger and she realized she was pregnant. Nowadays, a grandmother in other countries can undergo IVF treatment to get pregnant. But this old lady was able to give birth to a healthy baby boy, whom she named Kweiya.

Ternyata buah merah membuat nenek tua kenyang, dan dia mulai sering makan buah itu. Akan tetapi, betapa terkejutnya beberapa bulan kemudian saat perutnya membesar, dan dia sadar bahwa dia sudah hamil. Saat ini, di luar negeri seorang nenek harus menjalani terapi bayi tabung bila ingin hamil. Namun nenek ini dengan selamat melahirkan anak laki-laki yang sehat, yang dia namakan Kweiya.

Kweiya and his mother lived peacefully deep in the forest, and he grew into a big, strong lad. Despite his strength, he still found it difficult to cut wood and plants for their everyday needs with a stone ax. Before the modern era, Papuan societies lived for a very long time untouched by the outside world, much as in the Stone Age. One day, a man saw Kweiya’s difficulty in cutting down a tree and came to help him. The man was carrying an iron ax, which was far sharper and more effective than Kweiya’s stone ax.

Kweiya dan ibunya hidup dengan tenang di hutan sana, sampai Kweiya menjadi seorang anak yang besar dan kuat. Namun, walaupun kuat, dia masih kesulitan memotong kayu dan tanaman untuk keperluan sehari-hari dengan kapak batu. Memang sebelum zaman modern, masyarakat di Papua lama sekali hidup tidak tersentuh dari luar, persis seperti di Zaman Batu dulu. Suatu hari, ada seorang bapak yang melihat Kweiya kesulitan memotong pohon, dan datang menolongnya. Bapak ini membawa kapak besi, yang jauh lebih tajam dan efektif daripada kapak batu milik Kweiya.

As a good, polite child, Kweiya invited the man back home to eat as an expression of his gratitude. It turned out the man was happy to meet Kweiya’s mother and felt comfortable with her. Finally, he became her husband. Kweiya’s mother became pregnant again, this time giving birth to twin boys.

Sebagai anak yang baik dan sopan, Kweiya mengajak sang bapak ke rumah untuk makan sebagai tanda terima kasih. Ternyata bapak itu senang bertemu ibunya Kweiya dan merasa cocok dengan beliau. Akhirnya dia menjadi suaminya. Ibunya Kweiya hamil lagi, dan kali ini melahirkan anak kembar yang laki-laki.

However, as time passed, the twins became very jealous of Kweiya. They believed their mother loved him more than them and their younger sister. Such feelings often arise in families with many children.

Akan tetapi, dengan berlalunya waktu, dua kembarnya itu merasa sangat cemburu pada Kweiya. Menurut mereka, ibunya lebih sayang pada Kweiya daripada si kembar atau adiknya yang perempuan. Perasaan seperti itu memang sering muncul di antara keluarga yang mempunyai banyak anak.

Papuan people say that the twins began to tease Kweiya and bully him. However Kweiya, as the eldest, took no notice and continued to help his mother with everyday tasks, while the twins just played with their little sister.

Menurut masyarakat Papua, kedua anak kembar itu mulai mengejek Kweiya dan merundungnya. Namun Kweiya, sebagai anak sulung, tidak peduli dan tetap membantu ibunya dengan pekerjaan sehari-harinya, sedangkan si kembar hanya bermain saja dengan adiknya.

One day, the twins would not stop bothering Kweiya, to the point that he ran into the forest. He took some bark from a tree and began to spin it into thread. The thread seemed to be growing from his armpit. The twins could only watch, their mouths wide open in astonishment. Kweiya wove the yarn into a kind of wing, like a bird’s wing. When he was finished making two wings, he put them on and flew up into a tree, making a “tweet tweet tweet” sound!

Suatu hari, kedua anak itu mengganggu Kweiya terus, sehingga Kweiya lari ke hutan. Dia mengambil kulit pohon dan mulai memintal kulitnya menjadi tali. Talinya seolah-olah tumbuh dari ketiaknya. Si kembar hanya melihat saja dengan mulut ternganga. Kweiya menggunakan tali itu untuk merajut sayap, seperti sayap burung. Ketika selesai, dia pun mengenakan kedua sayap dan terbang ke atas pohon, sambil berbunyi, “Kwek kwek kwek!”

Naturally, the twins were frightened and called out for their mother. As soon as she saw what had happened, she called, “Kweiya! Kweiya!” But Kweiya only answered, “Ek ek ek ek,” just like a bird. As his mother loved Kweiya dearly, she also took some bark from a tree and started to spin it into yarn, just as Kweiya had done. When the wings were finished, his mother followed Kweiya and flew up into the tree.

Tentu saja si kembar ketakutan dan memanggil ibu mereka. Begitu ibunya melihat apa yang terjadi, dia panggil, “Kweiya! Kweiya!” Tapi Kweiya hanya menjawab, “Ek ek ek ek,” saja, seperti burung. Oleh karena ibunya sangat sayang pada Kweiya, dia pun mengambil kulit pohon dan memintalnya menjadi tali, seperti telah dilakukan oleh Kweiya. Ketika sayapnya selesai, ibunya pun menyusul Kweiya dan terbang ke atas pohon.

The children, who were left behind, and their father were very sad at losing not only Kweiya but also their mother and wife. One version of this story claims that the children started to blame each other and throw ash from the kitchen in each other’s faces. Finally, their bodies became dirty, like crows, while Kweiya and his mother had become beautiful birds of paradise, with lovely yellow, brown and black feathers.

Anak-anak yang tersisa bersama ayahnya sangat sedih akan kehilangannya bukan hanya Kweiya tetapi juga ibu dan isterinya. Menurut sebuah sumber, anak-anak mulai saling menyalahkan dan melempar abu dapur ke muka masing-masing. Akhirnya badan mereka jadi kotor, seperti burung gagak, sedangkan Kweiya dan ibunya telah menjadi burung cendrawasih, yang amat cantik dan indah dipandang dengan bulunya yang kuning, cokelat dan hitam.