A Long time ago, up on the Kamboi Rama mountain, there were two villages, Kamboi Rama and Aroempu. Kamboi Rama was a residence for Kamboi people, and Aroempu was a sago plantation owned by God Iriwonawani, who also owned a tifa. Whenever the tifa is played, the Kamboi people would gather. Every day, the Kamboi women would go to Aroempu to cut sago for their meals. As time passed by, the sago trees were becoming scarcer. God Iriwonawani got really angry, “Get out of here! Don’t just cut but sow and plant!” Because they were scared, the Kamboi people moved to the coastal area and named themselves Randuayaivi. However, upon the mountain, there still lived a couple of husband and wife, Irimiami and Isoray.
One day, on their way home after a hunt in the jungle, being tired, Irimiami and Isoray decided to rest. Irimiami sat on the ground leaning on a tree. Meanwhile, Isoray was still finding a place to sit. She saw a large stone and thought that it would be comfortable to sit on. As she sat, all of a sudden, Isoray shouted and jumped off the stone. “Ouch! The stone is so hot that I almost got burned!” Isoray cried. “What is it, dear?” Irimiami who almost fell asleep immediately stood up, startled by his wife’s screams. “I don’t know what happened either, but this stone feels really hot.” answered Isoray in panic. A short time later, in their astonishment, smoke came out of that stone. Curious, Irimiami tried to sit on that stone. “Ouch! It’s really hot!” he shouted. Becoming more curious, the couple decided to test the stone’s heat. “How if we put this venison on that stone?” said Irimiami. “Let’s just try, dear,” answered Isoray. Exquisite smells came from the burning meat. As it was ready, they ate them up. “What a delicious piece of meat” or “This meat is so delicious,” Irimiami said happily. Unsatisfied with what they had found, they continued testing the stone. “Let’s try to put these bamboo stems,” said Isoray. “Let’s try these grass and leaves,” Irimiami added. “How about that timber!” shouted Isoray. Day by day, they kept on testing the stone.
One bright day, they gathered more grasses and put them on the stone. The grasses burned quickly and spread to the surrounding plants, the fire got bigger. They started to panic. “My husband, we’ve burned this place.” Isoray cried in fear. “It’s a big disaster and we can’t stop. Let’s meet God Iriwonawani for help,” said Irimiami in tremble. They ran to God Iriwonawani. “My Lord, please help us put out the fire,” begged them. “Well, I shall help on the condition that you stop that harming act of yours,” said the God. “We promise, my Lord,” they said. With a magical power, the fire could finally be stopped. Nevertheless, it seemed that they had not learned from their mistakes. They kept on testing the stone, until one day they started a really big fire that did not stop for seven days and nights. They were really terrified and could not do anything but asked God Iriwonawai for help. Finally, the sounds of the tifa were heard again after a long time. All Randuayaivi people ran to Kamboi mountain, witnessed the burning forest which was again successfully extinguished by God Iriwonawani. On the mountain, Irimiami and Isoray finally told the story of ‘the holy stone.’ The following day, all Randuayaivi people came back to the mountain bringing food items. All those food items were put on the holy stone and the traditional feast took place for three days and nights. All the people chanted and danced around the holy stone, worshipping it and passing the holy stone story. People of Papua, particularly those of the Yapen islands, sanctify the fire stone hitherto. The stone has become a sacred stone that they worship annually.
What is the legend about?