In Papua, the practices of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in hunting were: limiting hunting on particular species, performing hunting using traditional hunting techniques, protecting specific land tenure from hunting and hunting on particular period of time.&nbsp; These practices were highly complex and highly variable across Papua – a set of unwritten and cultural law that passed on verbally from one generation to another that played important roles on nature protection.
Keywords: Traditional ecological knowledge, hunting, culture, natur

Koibur, Johan F.

Pattiselanno, Freddy

Yohanes, C. Hieronymus

English

KnE Publishing Platform

ICSBP Conference ProceedingsInternational Conference on Social Science and Biodiversity ofPapua and Papua New Guinea (2015), Volume 2016Conference PaperTraditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) inHunting: From Culture to NatureFreddy Pattiselanno, Johan F. Koibur, and C. Hieronymus YohanesFaculty of Animal Science Universitas Papua, Kampus UNIPA Jl. Gunung Salju Amban,Manokwari, Papua Barat, IndonesiaAbstractIn Papua, the practices of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in hunting were:limiting hunting on particular species, performing hunting using traditional huntingtechniques, protecting specific land tenure from hunting and hunting on particularperiod of time. These practices were highly complex and highly variable across Papua– a set of unwritten and cultural law that passed on verbally from one generation toanother that played important roles on nature protection.Keywords: Traditional ecological knowledge, hunting, culture, nature1. IntroductionTraditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is defined as “a cumulative body of knowl-edge, practice and belief evolving by adaptive processes and passed down throughgenerations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (includinghumans) with one another and with their environment” (Berkes et al., 2000). TEK issite specific, represents the information necessary for cultural survival, accumulatedover many years (Drew, 2005).Many people in Papua rely on benefits from plants and animals from the tropicalforests. Gathering and hunting activities to obtain food and collect ceremonial mate-rials also play important roles in traditional cultural life. A customary law, a systemof territorial use rights is not written into formal law, but passed on verbally fromone generation to another with resource rights vested in individuals, families, clans orentire communities.This paper evaluates how the common traditional practices and beliefs that stillextensively practised among different indigenous communities in hunting contributeto the nature conservation in particular wildlife conservation. Information is gatheredby authors from opportunistic surveys through field observations and interviewingpeople on the practice of TEK in different parts in Papua.2. MethodsSurvey was conducted opportunistically during a fieldwork of the first author to 11sites within Papua and West Papua provinces (Figure 1) from 2004 to 2014. The studyHow to cite this article: Freddy Pattiselanno, Johan F. Koibur, and C. Hieronymus Yohanes, “Traditional EcologicalKnowledge (TEK) in Hunting: From Culture to Nature,” KnE Social Sciences, vol. 2016, pages 66–70. DOI10.18502/kss.v1i1.436Page 66Corresponding Author:Freddy Pattiselanno;email: pattiselan-nofreddy@yahoo.comReceived: 16 July 2016Accepted: 14 August 2016Published: 25 August 2016Publishing servicesprovided by Knowledge EFreddy Pattiselanno etal. This article isdistributed under theterms of the CreativeCommons AttributionLicense, which permitsunrestricted use andredistribution providedthat the original authorand source are credited.Selection and Peer-reviewunder the responsibility ofthe ICSBP ConferenceCommittee.ICSBP Conference ProceedingsFigure 1: The map of Indonesia New Guinea red dots represent the surveyed sites in Papua and WestPapua provinces of Indonesia.sites were Yongsu, Jayapura; Dasigo, Mamberamo; Biak, North Biak; Botawa,Waropen;Napan, Nabire; Kebar, Tambrau; Meyakh, Manokwari; Babo, Bintuni; Mpur, Amber-baken; Karon, Abun and Maybrat, Sorong Selatan.In each village, we worked in close collaboration with the leaders to ensure villagersunderstood the rationale and aims of the study and to seek their consent to identify 10active hunters to partake in the interviews. Semi-structured interviews using protocolsand questionnaires developed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (Rao et al., 2005)were conducted. Interviews were conducted individually by visiting hunters at theirhome.We also collected information on hunting techniques, preferred game species, moti-vation and hunting off takes. Photographs were used to aid in proper identification ofhunted species. To reduce potential mistakes, biases and failing memories we soughtto corroborate the information collected and also interviewed elders, tribe leaders,village chiefs and religious leaders. Results are presented in descriptive technique anddifferent aspects found during the study will be highlighted in the discussions.DOI 10.18502/kss.v1i1.436 Page 67ICSBP Conference Proceedings3. Results3.1. Cultural-Based ApproachesA wide range of animals are hunted by different ethnic groups. There are introducedspecies such as deer and wild pig as well as native species for example, cassowariesand parrots (birds), cuscuses, wallabies, tree kangaroos and bandicoots (mammals) interrestrial ecosystems. While herpetofauna (crocodiles and turtles), are hunted alongthe coastal and swampy sites. Some reasons that derive peoples’ preferences are thepresence and the abundance of prey species, difficulties in hunting the animals and therelationship between species and cultural values. Cultural reasons have been highlyconsidered in selecting hunting target and all ethnic groups applied the limitation inselecting hunting target. For example, pigeon and bird’s of paradise serving as religioussymbol or their ancestor originated.Hunting ismostly done for subsistence purposes and hunters usually used traditionalhunting techniques. In almost all study sites, hunters relied on locally-made huntingweapons such as traps, arrows and bows, spears and blades. More importantly, mate-rials used for weapons are predominantly obtained from the forests: elastic plants –lianas and other plant fibers and bamboos. The use of traditional weapons is acknowl-edged as the way hunters collect limited number of preys as locally-made weaponsare killing less animals than advanced hunting techniques using guns.The acknowledgement of sacred forests is most commonly in Papua. Places thatrecognized as sacred or taboo places are usually located along the stream, hilly sitessurrounded by forests and remote forest sites covered by big trees and canopies. Inthese areas hunting are not allowed because people believe the spirit of ancestors arelived in, thus they have to be protected. In terms of land tenure hunters can only huntin their clan’s tenures. The practices that passed down and still put into practices arelimiting the access of hunters and protecting particular species in their own habitats.Seasonal hunting are acknowledged by all groups with different approaches. Thosealong the coast are mostly implement the opened and closed seasons that criticallyimportant in performing hunting. The important part of seasonal hunting is more likelysimilar to the practice of lean agriculture seasons or when sea was not conduciveenough to fish along the coast. Principally, seasonal hunting is similar to traditionalfallow rotation systems.3.2. The Contribution of TEK in Nature ProtectionEach cultural approach has a special consideration with TEK, for example, certainspecies are selected because people prefer to hunt species that contribute significantlyto food and cultural practices. In terms of hunting techniques, using specific traditionalweapons and particular strategies have less impact on environmental damage suchus hunting with fire. Using particular techniques also limit the hunting return becausepeople only hunt for family consumption. Limited access to sacred forests also leavescertain preserved areas of cultural importance and at the same time protect particularDOI 10.18502/kss.v1i1.436 Page 68ICSBP Conference Proceedingswildlife species from hunting. Seasonal hunting gives more opportunities for wildlifespecies to enrich themselves in number.4. DiscussionThe practice of TEK in hunting has a strong correlation with Colding and Folke’s (2001)paper on Resource and Habitat Taboos (RHTs). More specifically, limitation in selectingprey species contributes significantly to protect rare species for the sustainable useof resources. The decision to hunt wildlife species depends not only on nutritionaland economic status, but also the other opportunities such as available for food andincome generation (Milner-Gulland et al., 2003). The facts showed that, integratinghunting to market would increase harvest rate (Robinson and Bennett, 2004). Somebird species like birds of paradise and pigeons are not allowed to hunt and consideredas sacred species and they are respected as totem because in the past they havea strong relationship with their ancestors. unters – respected and appointed men inthe tribes usually taking only the most beautiful bird with developed and magnificentplumage. Jemison (2015) explains that only dominant fully mature males more thanseven years old are hunted for their feathers, limiting the harvest and providing thoseindividuals with earlier reproductive opportunities.Limitations in using hunting technique give more opportunities in sustainable use ofresources and maintain the ecological processes. According to Paijman (1976) materialused inmakingweapons are usually taken from forest plants such as Hibiscus sp., Tremasp., Syzygium sp. and Dodonea viscose. The use of traditional hunting techniques arelimited the bag bring home (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1997) compared to advanced techniquesthat killed animals indiscriminant. Sillitoe (2002) explained that there is a trend for cer-tain species fall to specific tactics and the combinations men carry reflect the differingstrategies they employ.Limitation in utilizing hunting tenure paly important role in establishing protectedareas that maintain ecological processes for sustainable use of the resources. Studiesfrom different places have been evidenced the traditional right in land tenure limit theaccess of those who are not members of the clans (Wanggai and Kilmaskossu, 1995,Sumule, 1995 and Madhusudan and Karanth, 2002), reflect a form of habitat taboosthat regulates access and use of resources in time and space (Colding and Folke, 2001).In someways indigenous hunting in Indonesian New Guinea has close cultural kinshipswith Papua New Guinea. For example, land and sea tenure is passed on verbally fromone generation to another with resource rights vested in individuals, families, clansor entire communities. Consequently hunting can only be legitimised on sem (groups)territories where they reside or where residents elsewhere recognise them as rightfulkin (Sillitoe, 2002).Limitation in determine timing for hunting is important to maintain ecological pro-cesses and at the same time allow the sustainable use of resources. The practice ofsasi along the coast adopted from seasonal marine harvest in Mollucas still in practiceto date. In the remote highland sites, seasonal hunting is shown from the way peoplehunts. Hunting is only performedwhen they needmeat for family consumption. ExcessDOI 10.18502/kss.v1i1.436 Page 69ICSBP Conference Proceedingsmeat from hunting will be shared to relatives or neighbors and preserved as dry meatfor future family consumption.5. ConclusionsCulturally, hunting has been one of the traditional ways of life from the time of theirancestors and people knew and implemented the Traditional Ecological Knowledge inhunting. The acknowledgement of TEK strongly influenced hunting practices that sig-nificantly contributed to protect rare species, establish protected areas, and maintainecological processes for sustainable use of the resources .References[1] F. Berkes, J. Colding, and C. Folke, Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledgeas adaptive management, Ecol Appl, 10, 1251–1262, (2000).[2] J. Colding and C. Folke, Social taboos: “Invisible” systems of local resourcemanagement and biological conservation, Ecol Appl, 11, 584–600, (2001).[3] J. A. Drew, Use of traditional ecological knowledge in marine conservation, ConservBiol, 19, 1286–1293, (2005).[4] M. Jemison, Feathers of seduction – the connection between birdsand people of New Guinea, http://smithsonianscience.org/2015/01/feathers-seduction-connection-birds-people-new-guinea/, 2015, [accessed24 April 2015].[5] M. D. Madhusudan and K. U. Karanth, Local hunting and the conservation of largemammals in India, Ambio, 3(1), 49–54, (2002).[6] E. J. Milner-Gulland and E. L. Bennett, Wild meat: the bigger picture, Trends Ecol Evol,18, 351–357, (2003).[7] Y. Ntiamoa-Baidu, in Wildlife and food security in Africa, FAO Conservation Guide 33,Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1997.[8] New Guinea Vegetation, K. Paijmans, Ed., The Australian National University Press,Canberra, 1976.[9] M. Rao, T. Myint, T. Zaw, and S. Htun, Hunting patterns in tropical forests adjoiningthe Hkakaborazi National Park, North Myanmar, Oryx, 39, 292–300, (2005).[10] J. G. Robinson and E. L. Bennett, Having your wildlife and eating it too: an analysis ofhunting sustainability across tropical ecosystems, Anim Conserv, 7, 397–408, (2004).[11] P. Sillitoe, Always been farmer-foragers? Hunting and gathering in the Papua NewGuinea Highlands, Anthropol Forum, 12, 45–76, (2002).[12] A. I. Sumule, The technology adoption behavior of the Indigenous People of Irian Jaya:A case study, Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Cenderawasih, Manokwari, 1995.[13] F. Wanggai and M. S. E. Kilmaskossu, Community participation in conservationactivities at the Marine National Park Cenderawasih Bay, Paper on CoordinationMeeting for the development of Taman Nasional Laut Teluk Cenderawasih,Manokwari, 30 September 1995 (1995).DOI 10.18502/kss.v1i1.436 Page 70

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (Tek) In Hunting:  From Culture To Nature

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Traditional Ecological Knowledge (Tek) In Hunting: From Culture To Nature

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