Since 1600 A.D. In 1996, by the time the first Chinese-merchant came to West Papua, the people of West Papua has been interacted with those Chinese Merchant. Some of the interactions are exchanging some of things for transaction or marriage. The things that exchanged were inherited in generations, one of the thing that now become ancient artifacts are an ancient musical instrument: a gong. The gong was belonged to Mansawan Family, in Sowak Village, some kilometers from Biak City in West Papua, Indonesia.
The diameter of the gong itself is about 40 cm and about 15 cm thick. What interesting is that in the surface of gong there is some ancient Chinese ornament. Apparently, two dragons are pictured there with some ancient Chinese pictography.
Intellectually, the gong was guessed had been brought from China as one of cultural object of some merchant that arrive and some of them establish ancient China-town in Papua. The gold-colored gong is now in a good condition with textures, dragon-picture, and the pictography of ancient Chinese letters.
However, Papuan have not musical instrument like that. This is interesting because the Papuan-culture never got the metal-age on their cultural-evolution. Thus, there is no etnographic-description on the gong from the Papuan. What they know is just the gong was a kind of Chinese musical instrument. Certainly, anthropological approach will be different. There will be comparative-ethnology on this situation (Ward Goodenough: Description and Comparison in Cultural Anthropology, Chicago:Aldine: 1970, p.112). The ethic-analysis that come from the anthropologist will claim that the gong will give empirical approvement about the presence of Chinese in Papua, most-probably for the spice-trade; as we know that Papua was very famous about its spices like nutmegs, cocoa, etc.
Probably, our question will mostly on how the acculturation of the ancient Chinese to the primitive stone-age of the Papuan. According to psychological analysis of Carl Jung, we can imagine the very different archetype of those two cultural segments (Carl G. Jung: Man and His Symbols.
However, the gong now left us million of questions that answers are hidden inside the mysterious pattern pictured on the gong. The gong now become one the important world-history witness about the evolution of culture of human race in the world.
To day, the gong is for sale by the Mansawan-family for the world to see and may some understand collectors to own. The Mansawan-family offers the price of the gong US$ 200 000.
It’s only the understand take suitable for the price, and only the understand proper to own it.
Contact us for further information:
Hokky/Yun, 061-0817208816
Fax. 061-022-2505442
mail: hokky_situngkir@hotmail.com
