Indonesian Papuans

According to the official Indonesian law,^[2] Papuans more specifically indigenous Papuans or native Papuans (Orang Asli Papua)^[2] are the common native-derived internationalized endonym in Indonesian English for the Native Eastern Indonesians of Papua-origin (as opposed to “New Guineans” term coined by the British colonizers). They are members of Melanesians and Austronesian, related to Oceanians (and to some extent, the Australian Aboriginals), who natively inhabited the Eastern Indonesian provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, Southwest Papua, West Papua, South Papua, and Papua in Indonesia (which historically part of the larger Sahul palaeocontinent). The Papuans natively speak numerous languages belonging to Austronesian languages or Papuan languages, each with its distinctive and unique linguistic features that can only be found on the island.

Native Papuans

Orang Asli Papua
Regions with significant populations
Western New Guinea	± 2.693.630 (2010)[1]
Languages
Native: Papuan (non-Austronesian) Austronesian Also: Indonesian (Papuan Malay)
Religion
Predominantly: Christianity Also: Tribal Animism Melanesian folk religion Islam
Related ethnic groups
Melanesians Oceanians Aboriginal Australians

The Papuans are one of the peoples of Indonesia that are protected under the national law by the government of Indonesia, to ensure their stability in economic and development.^[2]

Etymology

The are several theories on the origin of the term Papua. One theory is that the name comes from the word Papo Ua shortened from Papo Ua Gam Sio, a Tidorese term which means 'the nine sio (negeri) not being united/joined together', referring to the region under Sultanate of Tidore influence which has competing settlements.^[3] The other theory is the term originated from Biak sup i babwa lit. 'the land below' the sunset, referring to the Raja Ampat Islands as Biak people historically migrated west to these islands from ther homeland in the Biak Islands. They claimed themselves to be kawasa ori sar lit. 'people from the sunrise'. Babwa in Raja Ampat dialects became Papwa and then Papua. These two theories may be related, as the term can also means 'the subjected land' according to the Ma'ya (non-Biak) Salawati King, one of the four kings, whose ancestor Gurabesi migrated from Biak and conquered these islands under the name of Tidore Sultan and became the intermediaries between settlements on New Guinea coast and Tidore in collecting tributes and trades.^[4][5]

Terminology

Papuan, Melanesian, and OAP

Multiple terms have been proposed to describe the native inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia. “Papuans” (Indonesian: Orang Papua) is the preferred term (especially in Indonesian and English) for inhabitants of New Guinea, since it is based on actual native nomenclature used by as recorded in several ancient native evidences. Its usage in Indonesia most often exclude Papuans from Papua New Guinea, as they would be identified with the term "Papua New Guinean" (Indonesian: Orang Papua Nugini). Other terms, such as "Melanesians" (and less so Oceanians), are also used but include many inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia outside of New Guinea.^{[citation needed]}

After the passing of the Special Autonomy Law in 2001, the term "Native Papuan" (Orang Asli Papua, shortened to "OAP") was legally introduced to refer to specifically indigenous tribes from Western New Guinea,^[6] as the term Orang Papua has expanded to include migrants and their intermarried descendants who were born in Papua but don't belong to any indigenous tribes from New Guinea. Most Papuan tribes, with exceptions, are patrilineal and do not recognise matrilineal descents as members, as they do not carry the clan names.^[7] Though contentious, recognition by a tribal adat council can accommodate female descents and confers OAP status.^[8]

Ethnic groups

The Papuans grouped into numerous ethnicities, they possess various cultures and traditions. They are originally tribal community, shared different customs to one another, living in different isolated areas within the region.^{[citation needed]}

Languages

Main article: Papuan languages

According to the official Indonesian national linguistic data, there are at least 428 living languages (and 37 Papua-based isolate languages) natively spoken by the Papuans in Indonesia alone,^[9] making it the most linguistically diverse community in Indonesia. Many of these languages are non-Austronesian hence called Papuan languages by linguists. The Papuan (non-Austronesian) languages are also spoken beyond New Guinea, such as the now extinct Tambora language, members of the Timor–Alor–Pantar languages,^[10] and North Halmahera languages family^[11] which includes Ternate and Tidore.^[12]: 20

Notable people

A

• Abdul Hakim Achmad Aituarauw, member of Indonesian People's Representative Council

B

• Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer

E

• Elie Aiboy, former Indonesian footballer

F

• Frans Kaisiepo, 4th Governor of Papua and National Hero of Indonesia
• Freddy Numberi, Indonesian politician and former Minister of Transportation

M

• Machmud Singgirei Rumagesan, King of Sekar and National Hero of Indonesia
• Marlina Flassy, Indonesian anthropologist and the first woman to be appointed Dean of Cenderawasih University

N

• Nitya Krishinda Maheswari, Indonesian badminton player and 2014 Asian Games women's doubles gold medalist
• Nowela Auparay, professional singer and Indonesian Idol winner

R

• Raema Lisa Rumbewas, Indonesian weightlifter and silver medallist at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
• Ricky Kambuaya, Indonesian footballer

S

• Saiful Islam Al-Payage, Indonesian Islamic preacher

T

• Titus Bonai, Indonesian footballer

See also

• Melanesians
• Oceanians

References

1. "Kewarganegaraan Suku Bangsa, Agama, Bahasa 2010" (PDF). demografi.bps.go.id. Badan Pusat Statistik. 2010. pp. 23, 36–41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
2. "House: Papua Special Autonomy Law Gives More Authority to Papuans". Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia. 2021.
3. Wanggai, Tony V.M. (2008). Rekonstruksi Sejarah Islam di Tanah Papua (PDF) (Thesis) (in Indonesian). UIN Syarif Hidayatullah. p. 65. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
4. Sollewijn Gelpke, J.H.F. (1993). "On the origin of the name Papua". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia. 149 (2). Brill: 318–332. doi:10.1163/22134379-90003129. ISSN 0006-2294.
5. Remijsen, Albert C.L. (2001). Word-prosodic systems of Raja Ampat languages. Utrecht: LOT 2001. pp. 171–183. ISBN 90-76864-09-8.
6. "UU Otonomi Khusus Papua" (PDF). www.walhi.or.id. 2001-11-21. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
7. "Mengetahui Orang Asli Papua". beritapapua.id. 2022-07-13. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
8. Nugroho, Bagus Prihantoro (2018-07-24). "Raja Kaimana: Pigai Tahu Ngabalin Asli Papua, Jangan Politisir!". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-05-07.
9. "Risiko Kepunahan Bahasa Daerah Papua Meningkat, Kemendikbudristek Dorong Revitalisasi" [The Risk of Papuan Languages Extinction is Rising, the Indonesian Ministry of Education-Research-and Technology Supports the Revitalization] (in Indonesian). Ministry of Education, Research and Technology of Indonesia. 2022.
10. Donohue, Mark (2008-01-03). "The Papuan Language of Tambora". Oceanic Linguistics. 46 (2): 520–537. doi:10.1353/ol.2008.0014. ISSN 1527-9421. S2CID 26310439.
11. Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). "The Trans New Guinea family". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 21–195. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
12. van Staden, Miriam; Reesink, Ger (2008). "Serial verb constructions in a linguistic area". In Senft, Gunter (ed.). Serial verb constructions in Austronesian and Papuan languages. Pacific Linguistics 594. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School Of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 17–54. ISBN 978-0-85883-591-7. OCLC 271765117.