You are currently viewing The Origin Name Of Papua And Characteristics Of People

The Origin Name Of Papua And Characteristics Of People


The Papua people as we now know consists of 254 indigenous ethnic groups who inhabit on the easternmost island of the archipelago. This island has undergone several naming based on historical developments. Here will give you information about origin name of Papua.

The Origin Name Of Papua And Characteristics Of People


Dutch people mentions the island of Papua first, namely New- Guinea by a Spanish sailor, Ynigo Ortiz de Retes (1545) who called “Neuva Guinea” (New Guinea). Irian Residents (Papua) who has black skin reminds him to the inhabitants of the coast of Guinea on the African continent (Naber, 1915).


Another name is “Papua” which was originally used by sailors Portuguese Antonio d’ Arbreu .He is who visited the coast of Papua in 1551. That name previously worn by Antonio Pigafetta when he was in the Moluccas Sea in 1521. Here are alternatif origin name of Papua.


The word “Papua” comes from the Malay word “Pua-pua” which means “curly” (Stirling, 1943: 4, in Koentjaraningrat, 1993). In the 1964 Malino conference the name “Iryan” was proposed by F. Kaisepo. That word comes from the Biak language which means “rays”. The sun that dispels the fog on the sea”, so that there is “hope for Biak fishermen” to reach mainland Irian.


Another meaning of this word is also in people Biak, that Irian comes from two words, namely “Envy” and “ryan”. Envy means “he” (He who here is Land) and ryan means “hot”. So the meaning of the word Irian is “land”. hot one.” Marind-anim community on the beach the south say the word Irian means “land” water” (Koentjaraningrat, 1993: 3-4). This is one of information origin name of Papua.


Papuan identity has never been investigated by experts on racial characteristics. Only a few doctors and physical anthropologists only who have taken height measurements and the skull size index in some individuals in several scattered places.
These materials are not sufficient to get a comprehensive picture of Papuan physical characteristics. According to H.J.T. Bijlmer (1923), in Koentjaraningrat, 1993). There is tendency that Papuans are getting farther away from the beach the shorter his body, so also the skull shape of the general beach population- it is oval and increasingly towards the interior medium shape. This is will give knowledge of origin name of Papua and also the characteristics.


Size index facial features in some people there is a wide beach, but not infrequent there is a beach person whose face is long, and in the interior the situation is the same (Bijlmer, 1956, see Koentjaraningrat, 1993).


The diversity of racial characteristics in various indigenous Papuans are more clearly. It  seen through their phenotypic racial traits, i.e. color and hair shape.  Although in this case not there is uniformity. The origin name of Papua and also Papuan hair color almost all black but not all curly. People who live along Mamberamo river flow, hair a lot wavy and some are even straight (Moszkowski, 1911), while others are straight and honest (Neuhauss, 1911: 280, in Koentjaraningrat, 1993). Read also Important Lake In West Papua that you need to know,


The original Papuan was apparently too affected by the physical characteristics of the immigrants from East Asia in ancient times, or of the Asians who arrived in the age the younger one.


Mix of physical characteristic Genuine Paleo-Melanesoid with physical  . Which comes from the immigrants in the era younger in different places that. Plus the ecological adjustment in various geographically separated areas (like the Tapiro people in the mountains of Jaya- wijaya) . Which is presumably resulted in the the physical diversity of the Papuans that exist recently. As related with origin name of Papua.


There are information about origin name of Papua. This article will give more knowledge for you. Hope this article is useful for who needed.