Hundreds of Papuan indigenous people participated in the slaughter of 50 pigs at Trikora Field, Abepura, Jayapura, Papua, on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the victory of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla in the 2014 presidential election.
“We thank God for the victory of the Jokowi-Kalla partnership. We are celebrating in the traditional way today by slaughtering 50 pigs,” said Maria, a representative of Papuan indigenous people, as quoted by kompas.com, adding that the ceremony was known as Baratem.
Maria said that the party, attended by some 500 people, also marked Papuan participation in the nation’s democratic journey.
According to Maria, all participants enjoyed themselves thoroughly during the Baratem.
She went on to say that all Papuans hoped that the former Surakarta mayor could provide better education and health services in the region, as well as develop Papua’s infrastructure.
Jokowi, for his part, enjoyed the celebrations from his office at City Hall via teleconference. The Jakarta governor said that Papua’s development was one of the priority programs for his Cabinet, and that he was committed to implementing said program immediately after his inauguration by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Oct. 20.