goodmorningpapua.com – Ahead of the Papua PON, various parts objected to the crown of the bird of paradise as a souvenir or a gift.
The bird of paradise is one of the protected and preserved birds. This bird of paradise is found in many parts of eastern Indonesia such as Papua, Tores Strait islands, and West Papua. This scarce bird is an endemic species only found on the island of Papua and has an important role in the cultural customs of the tribes in Papua.
Quoted from digilib.ac.id, birds of paradise generally live in areas that have tropical rain forests and at their habitats, they have a habit of playing in the morning when the sun rises.
This bird, which is the pride of the Papuan people, has a beautiful feather color. In fact, because of its beauty, the birds of paradise are said to rarely descend to the ground and more often fly from tree to tree.
The color of the Cenderawasih furs does look very bright with a combination of black, reddish brown, orange, yellow, white, blue, green and purple colors. Moreover, because of the beauty of its feathers, people sometimes refer to the Cenderawasih bird a bird of paradise which means a bird comes from heaven.
Birds of paradise feathers are also often used as a decoration in ceremonies, weddings and religious rituals in the local area. The Papuan people believe that the Cenderawasih bird can bring good luck and can preserve the land of Papua, so they hold the Cenderawasih bird very sacred. And whoever disturbs the sustainability of the Cenderawasih bird ecosystem, the Papuan people have customary law for the perpetrators.
Then for the feathers of the Cenderawasih bird which is used as a crown on the land of Papua, it is a symbol of the majesty of traditional leaders and tribal chiefs. So, not just anyone can wear the crown. Only a few people can use these items such as officials, governors, regents, and others. This is the reason for the rejection of the acenderawasih crown as a souvenir at PON Papua.