Interesting Facts about Papua

Interesting Facts about Papua

Papua and its natural richness, of course it’s unique for many people in the world. Not only 

because of its natural richness, its natural beauty is also no less fascinating.

1.        The history of how Papua is formed

According to resource, the beginning of the island of Papua is the most bottom of the Pacific 

Ocean which is also part of Australian plate.

However, due to a meeting between two plates, the Australian plate with the Pacific Ocean plate, 

it led to the lifting of the Australian plate into an island in the northern part of Australia. The 

meeting / collision between the two plates also resulted in the formation of the Central Mountain 

Cluster and the cluster of mountains in the Bird's Head region. From this it can be concluded that the land of Papua is still classified as "young" and still undergo tectonic process until now. This can be seen from several tectonic earthquakes that occurred in the region of Papua.

2.        Snow in Papua

Snow in a tropical region ? it is impossible to happen before Papua is discovered. In 1623, a 

Dutch explorer name Jan Carstensz studied the island for the first time from a submarine and 

the he found the top of a snowy mountain in the tropical region. Puncak Jaya is the highest peak 

in Indonesian known as the name Cartensz Pyramide. This peak is one of the snowy peak located 

in the equator. 
         According to research, the ice content found in these mountains is about 5% of the world's total          ice reserves located outside the Antarctic Continent region. However, it may change at any time because recent research suggests that the ice content in the region is melting and has the potential to mecair as a whole due to global warming 

3.        Papua is rich with abundant natural resources

There are many types of mining products contained in Papua land and this contributes more than 

50% in the economy of Papua. Papua's mining activities are centered in Freeport's concession area

 with 2.5 billion tons of gold and copper seeds. A tremendous amount, is not it?

In addition to this, Papua also has a variety of mining potential, including:

• Coal totaling 6.3 million tons.

• Barn lime on an area of ​​190,000 ha.

• Quartz sand of 75 ha with potential yield of 21.5 million tons.

• Clay as much as 1.2 million tons.

• Marble of 350 million tons.

• Granite as much as 125 million tons.

• Various other mining products such as iron sand, nickel and chrome.

4.        Indigenous Papuans call their birthplace "Nuu Waar"

Basically, the indigenous people of Papua do not really like the word "PAPUA" which they think 

has a bad meaning and connotes harassment that degrades the dignity. Therefore, the indigenous 

people of Papua prefer to be called "Nuu Waar".

Nuu Waar are two words from the Irarutu Language in the Kingdom of the Tota Kaimana Name, Nuu Eva. Nuu means light, radiance or light and while Waar comes from the word Eva whose first meaning is "confess". When translated with a deeper meaning then Nuu Waar means light that keeps the secrets of nature.

5.        Indigenous people and migrants in Papua

Papua is a region with a fairly large number of tribes, which is about 250 tribes. However, this is 

not a guarantee of local dominance over the eastern part of Indonesia, because 48% of the population

 there are migrant communities. These migrants generally come from various tribes dominated by the

 Javanese and Sulawesi tribes.

In general, the entire tribe in Papua has its own uniqueness that eventually distinguishes them from 

other tribes in the territory of Indonesia. Many predict when Papuans come from the mainland of 

Africa, this is reinforced by the inherent features of them, such as: solid physical structure, dark skin 

color and curly hair like tribes on the African Continent. What do you think ?

6.        Papua endemic fauna

Not only Cenderawasih has been embedded as the identity of Papua alone which became endemic 

fauna and pride for the people. There are many other endemic fauna species that are not less 

interesting in Papua, among them: reimani turtles, dwarf cassowaries, black wing parrots, and golden 

mangle tree kangaroos.

7.        Papua a "Language Laboratory"

A study says that in Papua there are 268 local languages ​​outside of Indonesia that are used and 

developed by various tribes contained there. This is what makes researchers in America and Europe 

called Papua land as a language laboratory.

8.        Tradition of whirring / nyirih.

Menginang / nyirih is a tradition that is found from the westernmost region to the eastern region of 

Indonesia. Same with other regions in Indonesia, Papuan communities as well making the culture of

 eating betel / betel as a tradition of hereditary and popular as a symbol of togetherness and kinship. 

Slightly different from other areas in general, eating betel / betel is only done by parents or adults 

only, in Papua precisely this tradition favored by all circles, even children also will not miss for the 

business of eating betel / betel.

9.        Batik papua

Who says batik only belongs to Java region only? Papua also has batik with a variety of interesting 

motifs and colors. In general, Papuan batik mimiliki typical style in accordance with a variety of 

natural and cultural richness, such as: paradise, carved statues, and various other interesting motifs.