West Papua is full of natural wonders like giant plants and humongous birds. However, it’s not just the flora and fauna that’s big. Some of the people are, too, and have now been dubbed as West Papua’s giant man.
They’re not literally gigantic the way kaiju on TV and movies tower over cities, but they are much taller than the average people from Indonesia. Most if not all of them come from the Marind-Anim ethnic group, who stand taller than most.
The youth often stand at over 170 cm tall in their mid-teens, and they have not stopped growing. At their full height, an adult man from Marind-Anim ethnic group may stand over 200 cm tall, or over 2 m.
In comparison, the average Indonesian man stands 160 cm tall. It’s no surprise that some people would consider West Papua giant man as gigantic.
Some of these giant men are more notable than others. Indonesian talent scouts have scouted them to be athletes to represent Indonesia in multiple sports competitions, including South East Asian Games (SEA Games).
It’s not only their height that gives them advantages in sports, but also their background and life experiences as Papuan people.
So who are some of the giant men of West Papua who have contributed to Indonesia’s sports scenes?
Timotius Sokai Ndiken
As someone who stands nearly 200 cm tall, the title of West Papua giant man fits him well. At age 18, Ndiken had represented Indonesia in multiple SEA games from the mid-80s all the way through the mid-90s. He won the gold medal for javelin throwing.
According to him, his background as a Papuan man helped him in winning the games as he had become accustomed to throwing spears to hunt pigs even before he started training in javelin throwing.
After he stopped working as an athlete, Ndiken started working as a teacher in Jayapura.
Geraldus Mayella Balagaize
Similarly to Ndiken, Balagaize also stands very tall, much taller than the average Indonesian man. He used to represent Indonesia in multiple international sports games including SEA Games.
Balagaize’s sports career was varied. He participated in several sports, including javelin throwing, disc throwing, and shot put. Not only that, but he also won many games in the international scene, including in SEA Games and Asia Games throughout the 80s.
In Indonesia’s 2021’s Pekan Olahraga Nasional (National Sports Week, PON), Balagaize along with three other ex-athletes participated in lighting the torch to signal the sports week’s start.
After he retired as an athlete, Balagaize works as a trainer for younger athletes in West Papua.
Balagaize also represented seven ex-athletes in September of 2021 to accept cash prizes as thanks for their participation in Indonesia’s sports scene. The prize was given by Pertamina, Indonesia’s biggest oil company. Balagaize received it symbolically.
Engelbertha Kaize
It’s not just the men who are tall and talented. There are also West Papuan women with as much height and talent, and Engelbertha Kaize is one of them.
Kaize won just as many medals as her fellow athletes. She won multiple medals in her time as an athlete throughout the 80s and 90s. This includes a silver medal in Asia Games 1984, held in Hiroshima, Japan. She also won a gold in 1997’s SEA Games, which took place in Jakarta. As an athlete, she focused on beach volleyball.
Alongside Balagaize, she was also one of the four ex-athletes that participated in lighting the torch at PON 2021. She, alongside her fellow ex-athletes and over two hundred runners, ran a ten-kilometer marathon to light the fire.
Nowadays, Kaize works as the Assistant Police Commissioner at Merauke City’s police station. Thus, West Papua giant man already become a unique culture of West Papua.
