Nagaraja Chapter 2 Part 2

The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of 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.

The land of Asmat is located both within and adjacent to Lorentz National Park and World Heritage Site, the largest protected area in the Asia-Pacific region. The total Asmat population is estimated to be around 50,000 as of 1996.^[1] The term "Asmat" is used to refer both to the people and the region they inhabit.

The Asmat have one of the most well-known woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, and their art is sought by collectors worldwide.


YOMNGGA AND THE DRAGON

Folklore from Papua

YOMNGGA was a beautiful girl. She lived with her grandmother. Actually Yomngga had two sisters. But they lived in another village.

Yomngga was a kind girl. She always helped her grandmother in the field. Every morning they went to the field and they always went back home in the afternoon. Every day they took the same route.

They did not know that a dragon was always looking at them when they passed by a big tree. It was the dragon's house.

The dragon was not an ordinary dragon. During the day he was a dragon, but in the evening he changed into a handsome man. A witch had cursed him.

The dragon fell in love with Yomngga. However he did not know how to express his feeling. He could only stay in the trees during the days. He was afraid people people would kill him if he showed himself. He wanted to visit Yomngga at night when he changed into a human. The problem was he did not know where she lived.

Finally he could not stand it anymore. When he saw Yomngga was almost passing by the big tree, the dragon got off from the tree and approached Yomngga and her grandmother.

Of course they were shocked. They became more shocked when they saw the dragon was able to talk like a human.

"Don't be afraid. I will not harm you. I just want to know where you live."

Yomngga was shacking. She did not know what to do. And after she calmed down, she told the dragon about her house. And it made the dragon happy. He then let them continue their trip.

At night the dragon came to the Yomngga's house. He came as a handsome man. At first, Yomngga was confused. But after the dragon explained about the witch, she understood.

The dragon continued to come to Yomngga's house on the following nights. Soon they fell in love and get married. Yomngga could understand that her husband always changed into a dragon during the days. The grandmother agreed to their marriage but she asked the dragon to keep on staying in the house when he became a dragon. She did not want the villagers to kill him. Yomngga kept her marriage as their big secret. She even did not tell her two sisters.

Later Yomngga got pregnant. Her two sisters heard the news and they were very curious who her husband was. So they came to Yomngga's house. When they saw the dragon, they got very angry. And they got very angrier when they knew that the dragon was Yomngga's husband. They did not care although the dragon changed into a man at nights. They hated the dragon very much. Therefore, they planned to kill him.

One day the two sisters visited the dragon. The dragon did not know that they had prepared poisoned food. When the dragon ate the food, he died instantly.

The villagers saw the dead dragon. The two sisters told the villagers about the dragon. And when the villagers knew that the dragon was Yomngga's husband, they asked Yomngga to leave the village. Yomngga was very sad. She lost her beloved husband and she had to leave her grandmother in the village.

Yomngga left the village with a sampan. She rowed it along the small river. Since then people named the river as Yomngga's river. ***

Source : indonesianfolklore.blogspot.co…

Kutai, or Dayak Kutai, is a historic region in East Kalimantan in Indonesia on Borneo and also name of Dayak people on the region with a language of the same name and their historic . Today the name is preserved in the names of three regencies in East Kalimantan, the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, the West Kutai Regency and the East Kutai Regency. The major river of the region was and is the Mahakam River.