Frequency of Love: Reloaded

Story by A. Ruwidrijarto

In case you’re wondering, the frequency is 96.80 MHz FM, RRI Pro 2 Merauke. That’s the frequency your radio should be tuned into so that you can listen, interact and participate with Mari Cerita tentang Papua, let’s share stories about Papua, the Mace Papua. For Merauke area, it’s Susan and Brigita who bring Mace Papua on air every Saturday morning, and have ambition to visit, connect, and share stories from all 179 kampongs in Merauke.

You see…that’s exactly in the same frequency of Noken, connecting all those communities.

So, the Noken and Mace Papua meets here, a podcast of that Saturday morning at 96,80 MHz.

You know that when we are in the same frequency, we resonate.

I should not get myself sounding too scientific about this subject that I know next to nothing about, but resonance occurs when a system is able to store and easily transfer energy between two or more different storage modes. Various terms related to resonation are used, including amplification, filtering, enrichment, enlargement, improvement, intensification, and prolongation. The result of resonation is to make a “better” sound (these are not my words but our old pal’s, wikipedia).

That’s it. The Noken were blessed with better sounds when we resonate with Mace Papua, with the kids of Paradise, the teenagers of Bala Bala Blitz, the people of Yanggandur, the sago producers of Tambat, the communities in Poo. And even before the Noken in Anim Ha, Moniq, Adriana, Yune, and Spikdion had already called themselves as a group: One Frequency. As part of our growing network of nokenners, that one frequency becomes the frequency love. Love as is in the Philosophy of Noken.

We went to Yanggandur, a kampong in Wasur, set up camp, be with the people, and we got resonations.

In Yanggandur too we met with Sofia Mbanggu in the cajuput oil production house. Sofia is the president of the Yanggandur cooperative that organizes the production, processing, and marketing of cajuput oil.

While learning about the whole process of making cajuput oil, some of us who are crazy about bathing, showering, and spa started to form this wild idea of setting up a first-in-the-world cajuput spa using the water which is a byproduct of the process production process.

Those some of us did indeed showered in the processing plant using that nice and hot cajuputed water. They reported feeling fresh, healthy, clean, fragrant, simply awesome after the shower.

We also met with Mama Agustina Mahoi Sanggra who has traveled around the world, i.e. Paris and Melbourne, Jakarta and Bali, Merauke and Jayapura to promote her basket weaving and traditional dresses, introducing and presenting the art and craft of the Kanum Sub-tribe of Yanggandur.

And we were taken around the forest to learn how the people of Yanggandur identify trees that house honey and ready to be harvested, and how to harvest them. They are special trees with bees nest inside the trunk. It needs special people to spot them in the jungle.

Wow… we’ve gone very long at this point already, fourth page of this sequel of Frequency of
Love. After all, we are only at the second night of camping, Yanggandur.