Papua very strategically located between South East Asia and the Pacific, so there is a possibility of migration of other cultures to Papua. There is evidence that suggests the migration of other races outside of Melanesoid and Australoid to Papua. This is seen in the rock art, which has boomerang motifs found along the coast of the south beach of West Papua.
Indigenonus West Papua
West Papua is originally inhabited by Melanesian. The race came from Paleo-Melanesoid when Papua island was still connected to Australia island. But the two islands got separated as the sea level rose up. This caused the division of the Paleo-Melanesoid race into two: Melanesoid, who live in Papua, and Australoid, who live in Australia.
Rock Art in West Papua
Rock art is made by marking the natural stone through several techniques such as painting and engraving it. It can be found in caves around the world. Rock art is used by archaeologists to examine the past culture in that historical period. There are different motifs or symbols that are engraved in rock art. And these motifs can serve as a form of communication to depict the culture at that time.
The shapes of boomerang motifs are found in the rock art at the southern coast of Papua, in the region of Kaimana, Fak-Fak district, to Raja Ampat area. There are variations in the shape of the boomerang based on boomerang types. They are done with different techniques like painting and carving the symbol (Djami, 2017).
Boomerang is not West Papua’s Culture
Boomerang does not belong to indigenous Papuan culture, and rather it belongs to Aborigines (indigenous Australians). Boomerang has many functions for hunting weapons, fire starters, even musical instruments. There are two types of boomerang: the returning and the non-returning. The returning boomerang is designed to spin and return to the thrower after being thrown, while the non-returning boomerang is not thrown at all. Indigenous aborigines mainly use it for hunting. Boomerangs can cause immortal injury to small animals and mortal injury to large animals. It can kill multiple birds when thrown, and it can make a kangaroo fall to the ground if it strikes its legs.
Boomerang Motifs Rock Art as evidence of Austronesian Arrival
It is easy to assume that boomerang motifs in the rock art of south coastal Papua come from aborigines. This is because Australia and Papua had not been separated before the sea level rose up. There is a possibility that the aborigines and Melanesians once lived together for a long period of time, which resulted in the introduction of boomerang to Melanesians (indigenous Papuan tribe).
However, this might not be the case because even to this day, Melanesians do not know anything about boomerang culture. Boomerang has never been part of their culture. So, these boomerang motifs might be brought by another race outside of aborigines (Djami, 2017)
According to Djami (2017), Austronesians might be the one who brought the boomerang motifs to Papua. Historically, Austronesians are the ancestors of Malay and people of West Indonesia. Austronesian speakers are originally from Taiwan. They have advanced skills and technologies in sailing, which enable them to travel far away. They were also good at livestock farming, such as chicken, pigs, and dogs.
They migrated by sailing the sea to South Asia, which today are known as Philippine, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Austronesians also migrated to Papua, which is located between South East Asia and the Pacific. Their arrival to Papua is marked by historical findings, such as the rock art in the south coastal area of Papua.
CONCLUSION
The boomerang motifs in rock art were the result of the migration of other races. Boomerang itself is not an indigenous Papuan cultural product, so there must be another race who brought the boomerang culture to Papua. The findings of rock art in the south coastal area of West Papua are evidence of the arrival of Austronesians who migrated to the island.
