卖槟榔的Dina

第一次和日惹的巴布亚学生接触，她说印尼语的时候也有些紧张。看到我的紧张以后，她好像放松了一些。

We met Dina on the street, just out from the famous Padang chain restaurant Duta Minang. The street lies in the same street as STTN Batan, the only advanced nuclear research institute in the country. Undoubtedly this is a strategic location - the heart of Babarsari, notorious 'Gotham city' in Jogja. This area earned the reputation for being temporary home to many East Indonesian students and gangs. There are two pinang stalls (lapak) on the road. Another stall is surrounded by at least four people, loaded with laughing. Normally Pinang = Papuans. Pinang in java has already been phased out in cities. Maybe they are the only group who sell and consume here. They are so different.

Waiting for customers, she sits on a piece of small pink-white matt, bending knees. The phone glittering with dim green and white light, it is the chatting application whatsapp. Her stall is quiet, only her. She has beautiful dark skin, two buns of curly hair, one each on the left and right. She came to Jogja in 2020, the rampant covid lockdown year. She couldn’t leave the boarding house (kos), bored, missing home badly. Now she is an oldbie, she feels more at ease. She told us she is 19, her parents are old, but she doesn't know how old they exactly are. Their age is a myth.

She is from Wamena, the largest town in Papua highlands, a Christian stronghold, with around 60000 people in the city. She is studying at a state university UNY(日惹国立大学) in PAUD (学前教育). Dina got the idea to sell pinang, because she saw Papuans open small “lapak”, it might be an opportunity to make money, she thought. “karena saya ta punya uang untuk makan, saya jual ini saja ikut orang-orang.”（因为我没钱吃饭，就跟着他们一起卖）-- this answer is sore. As so many Javanese hold the stigma that Papuans often drunk (mabuk), fight, abusing government money, lazy, this image is predominantly Papua boys. Papuan girls are more invisible. and obviously Dina is the opposite. Now she comes to the street every day from 5 pm - 12 pm. She lives in a boarding house (not Papua dorm from the government) close to Jombor. Luckily she has a motor, need at least 20 mins from kos. Her daily agenda is excessively full: morning to afternoon, class, after class, rest a bit, then if the Christen church has activities (ibadah), go to church, if not, then go to sell.

Pinang Papua is a simple pack: pinang, kapur and batang sirih, almost 5 yuan one stack (rp10k/tumpuk) . The business looks promisinng. During maybe 10 minutes her model teaching me how to eat pinang, already had three groups of Papuans drop by, they buy quickly and determined. First, you need to peel it off, then chew, if you chewed out water, spit out fast, then use sirih dipping kapur, chew with pinang fruit. It feels tough, rough and dizzy. The pinang is from Java, she got it for free. But kapur from Papua.

Talking about the future, if not dropping out, there will be another 3 years in Jogja to finish bachelor. She will definitely go back after graduation, because her parents are already calling her every day to ask have you finished, come back, papa is sick.