Isolo, which literally means “dance on a boat”, was the central theme of this year’s Sentani Lake Festival. The event ran from June 19-21 in Sentani near Jayapura, the capital city of Papua province.
There are various kinds of isolo, like the isolo of escorting a daughter to marriage and even the isolo of carrying dumplings for working men. There are also isolo involving Ondofi, who the Sentani tribe believe is the highest of spirits. There is the isolo of carrying pigs for Ondofi and the isolo of carrying logs for building a house for Ondofi.
One of the Sentani tribe’s elders, John Wahei, says before the Sentani people came across religious missionaries, Ondofi was like their god.
It’s no wonder traditional ceremonies held by the Sentani people focus on Ondofi, the guardian of the Sentani people.
— Text and photos by Nethy Dharma Somba
The men’s leader, ondoafiTokoro from the Babrongko kampung, is carried by his people while performing an isoloof carrying logs to build a house for Ondofi.
The lake is the heart of the Sentani tribe and wooden boats are the primary means of transportation and economic survival.