Tehit people

Last updated
Tehit
Total population
15.972 (2010) [1]
Regions with significant populations
South Sorong Regency
Languages
Tehit, Indonesia, Papuan Malay
Religion
Christianity (majority)
Islam dan Indigenous beliefs (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Maybrat Moi Inanwatan

Tehit people are an ethnic group who live in the southern part of Doberai Peninsula. Their traditional settlements are concentrated around the Teminabuan District. According to the 2010 Indonesian census, Tehit people population were 15.972. [2]

Contents

Etymology

The word tehit or tehid derives from the word "tahiyid," which means "They are tehid". However, the lexical meaning has lost. [3]

History

According to history, Tehit people came from the Toror culture region encompassing the Seget-Sele Peninsula. A natural disaster of a major tidal surge prompted Toror culture people to seek refuge and settle in an area known today as Teminabuan. Tehit people who migrated to Teminabuan by boat were Kondologit, Kondjol, Sarwanik, Kemesrar, Salamuk, Bless, Blesia, Bleskadit, Sremere, Kremak, Momoth, Adjolo, Sfahrit, Kdamaa, and Salambauw clans. These migrating groups later introduced stone axes and pottery to the residents who had lived in Teminabuan. They probably came to Teminabuan several hundred years ago and pushed out the Papuan pygmy tribe, Salfedrar, who had dwelled in the area earlier. Tehit people are tall and strudy, like typical Papuans living in swampy coast areas. [3]

Tehit's traditional stories stated that some of them originated from kefi, a tree that they considered to be regal. The story told that the Frisa clan, which currently lives in Wenselalo, split kefi. After being split, humans emerged from it. The splitting was based on the instruction of a female dog whose name was unknown. The clans that are from kefi trees are Sagisallo, Sera, Selaya, Seflembolo, Sagrim, Sarefe, Sabru, Sakamak, Thesia, Sreflo, Sawen, dan Yarollo. Furthermore, there are other clans originating from soil, cassowary, sky, and river, such as Simat, Flassy, Kamesrar, Suahan, and others. From these traditional stories, there was a blend of culture, language, and custom processes. Then, intermarriage occurred between them, creating Tehit people. [3]

Tehit has been influenced by several eras. During the Sultanate of Tidore era, Tehit people were led by small kingdoms that resided in four weris (territories or settlements), which were Weri Ambuam (Teminabuan), Weri Sar, Weri Konda, dan Weri Kasrer (Seribau). The King of Kaibus in Teminabuan was the most dominant of the others, with the title of Raja Kaibus and Angguok Kondjol as the first king. Trade relationships were established between these territories and kingdoms in the Onin Peninsula, such as Fatagar and Arguni, and in Raja Ampat Islands, i.e., Salawati. They traded lesser bird-of-paradise and slaves in exchange for clothes, axes, machetes, knives, and others. [3]

In the 1940s, European missionaries (zending) began spreading Christianity among the Tehit people. Many of the missionaries were sent from the Maluku Islands to Teminabuan. King Kaibus Angguok played an important role in facilitating the spread of Christianity. The introduction of this 'foreign' religion led the Tehit people to abandon their traditional culture and accept modernization through the church. In 1941, during World War II, all the priests, missionaries, and locals fled into the interior. [3]

During the Japanese occupation, Tehit people were forced to build Teminabuan - Ayamaru highway with limited equipment. Due to the Japanese tyranny towards the locals, there was resistance against them. Through cooperation between the Allied forces and Teminabuan residents, Japanese forces were finally expelled from Teminabuan. Afterwards, the Dutch drilled oil in Sorong. The Tehit society began to rebuild itself in the fields of government, church, socio-economics, society, and culture. During this period, the Tehit tribe usually formed a unity consisting of two parts: the Coastal Tehit and the Mountain Tehit. [3]

Tehit society consists of several patrilineal clans. Clan members are called wendla, and their leaders are referred as nakhohokh. Leadership is commonly seen in societal issues such as inheritance distribution problems, marriage regulation, and customary violations. Nakhohokh has to lead a meeting (lelekh wamar) to decide a matter. The decision needs consideration from a group of wise elders (nasemba). In the past, lelekh wamar also functioned as a ritual institution that served as the intermediary between nadkhoin (humans) and tali nggameri (god) known as Na Agow Allah. [3]

Traditional beliefs

Tehit people hold a belief that the wua (spirit) of a recently deceased person will go to mlfitain (afterlife). In there, wua will watch over their descendants that are still living in the world. If any violation occurs, wua will come and manifest as a disturbing spirit to prevent the descendants from repeating the violation. Wua can appear in the form of illness, boars, or closing people's fortune in hunting and other jobs. This wua disturbance is called khlembet ysimari (watched by spirits) and can only be resolved by offering hea (sacrifices) or performing sambe (forgiveness) through mimit's (shaman) assistance. The most malevolent wua is called khol, and this spirit is only afraid of tali nggameri or Na Agow Allah, who are based in ik (sky). [3]

Like other Papuan tribes in the Doberai Peninsula, Tehit used not hokh (sacred fabric) as a currency, especially for dowry. In the Tehit people's marriage, syolo (maternal uncle) played an important role in determining the match for their niece or nephew. Therefore, the ideal marriage in Tehit society is between cross-cousins. [3]

Language

Tehit language, locally known as salo tehit, [4] consists of 11-23 dialects which are Tehiyit (spoken in Teminabuan and its surroundings), Afsya (also known as Mbolfle; spoken in Weri Konda and Mbariat located in the southern part of Teminabuan), Gemma (spoken in Wehali and Eles located in northern Teminabuan), Yemian (spoken in Hana and Sanekh), Sawiat (spoken in Soroan and its surroundings), Fkar (spoken in mountainous region), Sayfi, Konyokh, Salmeit, Yatfle, Olabra, and Sfaryere. [3]

Livelihood

Tehit people live in swampy areas. Their main source of income is cutting down and collecting sago stretch. Meanwhile, those who dwell in the forest areas mainly engage in agricultural activities by harvesting yams, taros, pumpkins, and others. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sulawesi</span> Province of Indonesia

South Sulawesi is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest city is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi to the north, the Gulf of Bone and Southeast Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and Flores Sea to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kalimantan</span> Province of Indonesia

West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan to the east, the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Java Sea to the south. The province has an area of 147,037 km2, and had a population of 4,395,983 at the 2010 Census and 5,414,390 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 5,623,328. Ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, and Madurese. The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the vast watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. The province shares land borders with Central Kalimantan to the southeast, East Kalimantan to the east, and the Malaysian territory of Sarawak to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Kalimantan</span> Province of Indonesia

Central Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. It is bordered by West Kalimantan to the west, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan to the east, Java Sea to the south and is separated narrowly from North Kalimantan and Malaysia by East Kalimantan's Mahakam Ulu Regency. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 2020 Census showed a total of almost 2.67 million; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 2,774,747.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Papua (province)</span> Province in Indonesia

West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya Barat, is an Indonesian province located in Indonesia Papua. It covers most of the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula and the whole of the Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby smaller islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by Southwest Papua Province, the Halmahera Sea and the Ceram Sea, to the south by the Banda Sea, and to the east by the province of Central Papua and the Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is the province's capital and largest city. With an estimated population of 569,570 in mid-2023, West Papua is the least populous province in Indonesia after South Papua, following the separation off in 2022 of the western half of the Bird's Head Peninsula to create the new province of Southwest Papua, containing 52% of what had been West Papua's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balinese people</span> Ethnic group in Indonesia

The Balinese people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok and in the easternmost regions of Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Sulawesi</span> Province of Indonesia

West Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It borders the provinces of South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The province also shares maritime borders with East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan to the west and West Nusa Tenggara to the south. It is located on the western side of Sulawesi island. It covers a land area of 17,152.99 km2, and its capital is the town of Mamuju. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 1,158,651, while that in 2020 recorded 1,419,228; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,481,077.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmat people</span> Ethnic group of New Guinea

The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. The Asmat inhabit a region on the island's southwestern coast bordering the Arafura Sea, with lands totaling approximately 18,000 km2 (7,336 mi2) and consisting of mangrove, tidal swamp, freshwater swamp, and lowland rainforest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betawi people</span> Ethnic group in Indonesia

Betawi people, or Batavians, are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the city of Jakarta and its immediate outskirts, as such often described as the native inhabitants of the city. They are the descendants of the people who inhabited Batavia from the 17th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Indonesians</span> Ethnic group

Indian Indonesians are Indonesians whose ancestors originally came from the Indians subcontinent. Therefore, this term can be regarded as a blanket term for not only Indonesian Indians but also Indonesians with other South Asian ancestries. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there were about 120,000 people of Indian origin as well as 9,000 Indian nationals living and working in Indonesia as of January 2012. Most of them were concentrated in the province of North Sumatra and urban areas such as Banda Aceh, Surabaya, Medan, and Jakarta. However, it is quite impossible to get correct statistical figures on the Indian Indonesian population, because some of them have merged and assimilated with the indigenous population to become indistinguishable from native Indonesians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bird's Head Peninsula</span> Peninsula in Indonesia

The Bird's Head Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula, is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces of Southwest Papua and West Papua. It is often referred to as The Vogelkop, and is so named because its shape looks like a bird's head on the island of New Guinea. The peninsula at the opposite end of the island is called the Bird's Tail Peninsula. The peninsula just to the south is called the Bomberai Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Indonesia</span> Overview of ethnic groups in Indonesia

There are 1,340 recognised ethnic groups in Indonesia. The vast majority of those belong to the Austronesian peoples, with a sizeable minority being Melanesians. Indonesia has the world's largest number of Austronesians and Melanesians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malay Indonesians</span> Ethnic group in Indonesia

Malay Indonesians are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, is a standardized form of Riau Malay. There were numerous kingdoms associated with the Indonesian Malays along with other ethnicities in what is now Indonesia, mainly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These included Srivijaya, the Melayu Kingdom, Dharmasraya, the Sultanate of Deli, the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, the Sultanate of Bulungan, Pontianak Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Sambas. The 2010 census states that there are 8 million Malays in Indonesia; this number comes from the classification of Malays in East Sumatra and the coast of Kalimantan which is recognized by the Indonesian government. This classification is different from the Malaysia and Singapore census which includes all ethnic Muslims from the Indonesian archipelago as Malays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayo people</span> Ethnic group in Indonesia

The Gayo people are an ethnic group living in the highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Gayo tribe has a population of 336,856 and they live predominantly in the mountains. Most Gayo live in three regencies in Aceh namely Bener Meriah, Central Aceh, and Gayo Lues. Some of them live in several districts in other regencies, such as Serbejadi District, Simpang Jernih District, and Peunaron District in East Aceh Regency and Beutong District in Nagan Raya Regency. Other than that, the Gayo population also covers Southeast Aceh Regency and Aceh Tamiang Regency. Their homeland lies in the Barisan Mountains which has elevations of over 12,000 feet and extends more than one thousand miles. The Gayonese language has four dialects: Lut, Serbejadi-Lukup, Lut and Luwes. Their language does not have a writing system, but folk tales, stories and poetry are passed down in oral tradition. The traditional house of the Gayo is called Umah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teminabuan</span> District in Southwest Papua, Indonesia

Teminabuan is a district in South Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The district serves as the administrative capital of South Sorong Regency. It had a population of 11,627 at the 2010 Census and 19,491 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 19,876. The town is located in the southwestern-central part of the Bird's Head Peninsula. The area was bombed between January and March 1967. It is served by Teminabuan Airport.

Javanese Surinamese are an ethnic group of Javanese descent in Suriname. They have been present since the late 19th century, when their first members were selected as indentured laborers by the Dutch colonizers from the former Dutch East Indies.

Tehit is a Papuan language of the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea. Other spellings are Tahit, Tehid, and other names Kaibus, Teminabuan. Dialects are Tehit Jit, Mbol Fle, Saifi, Imyan, Sfa Riere, Fkar, Sawiat Salmeit.

West Bird's Head languages are a small family of poorly documented Papuan languages spoken on the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palembang people</span> Malay ethnic subgroup

The Palembang or Palembang Malay are a sub-ethnic group of Malays that inhabits the interior parts of South Sumatra province, Indonesia.

Marlina Flassy is an Indonesian anthropologist, who is the first woman to hold a deanship at Cenderawasih University, and is the first woman and indigenous Papuan to be appointed Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences there. In 2015 the Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology awarded her its Golden Pin Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Indonesia</span> Region of Indonesia

The region comprising the other 21 provinces in Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan is known as Western Indonesia.

References

  1. Ananta, Aris (2015). Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M. Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono. Singapura: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN   978-981-4519-88-5. OCLC   1011165696.
  2. Ananta, Aris; Arifin, Evi Nurvidya; Hasbullah, M. Sairi; Handayani, Nur Budi; Pramono, Agus (2015). Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN   978-981-4519-88-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Handoko, Soewarto; Rumbewas, Dominggus; Sawaki, Marthen; Krenak, Thonce; Sunaryo, Suristina (1983). Isi dam Kelengkapan Rumah Tangga Tradisional Menurut Tujuan, Fungsi dan Kegunaannya Daerah Irian Jaya (PDF) (in Indonesian). Indonesia: Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan . Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  4. Flassy, Marlina (2020-06-09). "Membangun Jati Diri Suku Tehit Kabupaten Sorong Selatan Papua Barat". CENDERAWASIH: Jurnal Antropologi Papua. 1 (1): 1–7. doi:10.31957/jap.v1i1.1377. ISSN   2774-552X.