Red fruit is a favorite plant of the people of West Papua.

This fruit with the scientific name Pandanus conoideus and belonging to the Pandanaceae family, is an endemic plant from Papua that spreads to Papua New Guinea. The trees can be found from the lowlands to the highlands.

The West Papua Agricultural Technology Study Center estimates that more than 30 red fruit pandan cultivars can be found in Papua. Each region has a different name for each fruit character. For example, red fruit in Kelila District, Wamena, Papua has different local names, referring to differences in size, fruit color, leaf color, and taste. So, there are the names maler, ugi, oakelu, kenen, wona, kuambir, gepe, barugum, magari, werene, and baga.

However, broadly speaking, only four cultivars have been widely developed due to their economic value, namely the long red, short red, brown, and yellow cultivars.

He explained again, ripe red fruit is used as a complement to vegetables and also a complementary element in traditional stone-burning ceremonies. Extracted red fruit will produce oil used for food coloring and craft materials. In fact, it is also used as a stamina enhancer, worm medicine, skin disease medicine, cancer medicine, hypertension medicine, and diabetes mellitus medicine.

But apparently, this red fruit is a prehistoric plant in Papua.

“Papua is located on the equator with tropical rainforests. In prehistoric times, clearing agricultural land was not easy, only relying on stone tools,” said Hari Suroto, an archaeological researcher at the BRIN [National Research and Innovation Agency].

According to him, based on pollen analysis conducted by Haberle from the Australian National University in 1991, on the remaining red fruit pollen found in Kalela, Baliem Valley, it is estimated that early agriculture in Papua took place 6,000 years ago.

This shows that the highlands of New Guinea have known intensive farming with the main tuber crop, namely taro, since 7,000 years ago. Meanwhile, for the western part of Indonesia, evidence of intensive farming is known since Austronesian speakers came around 3,000 years ago by introducing grain crops, namely rice.

“Red fruit has long been consumed by the Dani people in the Baliem Valley, Jayawijaya Regency, Papua. Red fruit in Dani language is called kuansu,” said Hari.

He added that among the Amungme tribe, there are several versions of their origins. One of them, the ancestors of the Amungme Tribe emerged from the ground, where they had always been. Darkness is the only reason why people want to leave a hole or cave. The mouth of the cave is called Mepingama, next to an old tree near Wamena, Baliem Valley. Humans came out of the cave carrying various plant seeds needed for planting. There are tubers in the form of taro, bananas, and red fruit.

“There are also stone axes and fire-making tools. All of that becomes a provision for survival.”

The trees are so big and it rains frequently, making land clearing by burning difficult. So that in prehistoric times, the inhabitants of Papua in the lowlands developed an efficient agricultural system. No need to spend a lot of effort just to chop down a big tree with a stone tool.

“They rely more on planting tubers that grow vines and don’t need a lot of sun.”

In the book “Papua Prehistory [2010]” written by Hari Suroto, it is explained that in the highlands of Papua, which is located between 1,300 to 2,300 meters above sea level, the inhabitants have also developed an agricultural system that is no less efficient. The highlands are rarely found with large trees, with erratic weather and limited sunlight intensity.

In addition, on a plateau of 1,550 meters above sea level, only certain types of plants can grow. These plants are taro, red fruit [Pandanus], Australimusa banana [a type of banana native to Papua with upright fruit stalks], yams, and sugarcane.

“Red fruit has a shape resembling pandanus with a height of up to 16 meters supported by supporting roots. The fruit is oval in shape with buds covered with fruit leaves,” said Hari.

A study entitled “Red Fruit [Pandanus conoideus Lamk] Bioresources of the Central Highlands of Papua: Diversity and Its Conservation Efforts” conducted by Albert Husein Wawo, Peni Lestari, and Ninik Setyowati, published in the Indonesian Biology Journal [2019], explained that red fruit is a plant local bioresources for the people of the central highlands of Papua. This plant is important after food crops such as hypere [Ipomoea batatas L], hom [Colocasia esculenta L], banana [Musa paradisiaca], avocado [Persea americana], and jackfruit [Artocarpus integra].

“The people of Papua New Guinea call the pandanus whose fruit is eaten Marita, while in Wamena, Papua, the red pandanus is called tawi. In Indonesian it is called red fruit because the fruit is red with a distinctive shape,” the researchers wrote.

According to them, as a local bioresource, red fruit has an important meaning for the people of Papua because of several things, namely the oil is used as edible oil and a basic ingredient for medicine. Pieces of red fruit boiled with sweet potato leaves are used as pig feed. The leaves are known to be used as woven material.

Meanwhile, the stature of each cultivar of red fruit is different from one another because it is influenced by genetic factors, which has an impact on its growth pattern from the seedling phase to maturity. The fruit growth pattern from young to old is divided into three stages and takes between 3-4 months.

“Red fruit conservation activities in Papua have been carried out in KRBW [Wamena Biological Botanical Gardens] and a small number of farmers have been involved in cultivating them, both in their gardens and in their yards,” the researchers wrote.