Papeda, the traditional dish was featured today on Google Doodle (20/10). The dish, originating from Papua, Maluku Islands, and Eastern Indonesia is made from sago, with a white, soft porridge-like texture.
In 2015, papeda was named an intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia in the domain of traditional skills and crafts. The dish has a very mild flavour. This is the reason why papeda is usually eaten with tuna in yellow broth. It is also frequently eaten with adish called sayur ganemo which is made of young melinjo leaves. The dish is now popular in other regions with various modifications.
Quoted from Indonesia.go.id, papeda is well-known among the Sentani and Abrab communities who populate the Sentani and Abrab lakes as well as Manokwari. The dish is often served during important events in Papua, Maluku, and surrounding areas.
According to history, sago is highly revered by Papuan people. It is not merely a foodstuff, it is also related to the story of how humanity came to be. That is why when harvesting is done together, the community holds a special ceremony as a show of gratitude for the harvest. The sago can fulfil the needs of the families in the region.
Papuan cuisine is frequently served during ceremonies, one of which is Watani Kame. The ceremony marks the end of a person’s death cycle. The dish is distributed among the people who helped during the ceremony.
In addition to death, papeda is considered an important dish served during the birth of first children in Inwatan, South Sorong, West Papua. During the ceremony, papeda is usually served with pork. Also related to the in Inwatan, papeda is frequently consumed by women as a way to lessen the pain during tattooing.
Papeda is also considered an important dish in the life cycles of the Nuaulu tribe in Seram Island, Maluku. The dish is known as sonar monne in the region, a dish that is served in the ritual celebrating a girl reaching puberty. However, the Nuaulu and Huaulu tribes forbid women who are menstruating to cook papeda as it is considered taboo.
Different from regular porridge, papeda is eaten with a special fork or chopsticks. The forks or chopsticks are used to roll the porridge until it forms a large ball, which is then placed on the plate. Afterwards, the papeda is ready to consume with yellow broth. Due to its soft consistency, papeda does not need to be chewed, but rather sipped and then swallowed.
Papeda also contains profound philosophy. It is usually consumed by a family with helai and hote. The helai and hote are traditional eating implements made of wood to serve papeda. The hote is a wooden plate where the dish is placed. To them, the family meal is symbolic of a family’s ties as a place of discussion between parent and child.
West Papua Now 