What are the biggest ethnic groups in West Papua? West Papua, often known as Papua only, is the easternmost province of Indonesia. It is directly adjacent to Papua New Guinea. The West Papua District has much uniqueness. One of them is that it still has numerous authentic tribes or ethnic groups, particularly in its rural areas. Even the total of tribes in this area is more than 450 tribes.
But sure, not all of them still have many members. Most of those tribes are minors enough and they are even unreachable by modern cultures. Meanwhile, the big tribes are commonly more open so that strangers can approach them more easily. So, the biggest and the most famous tribes or ethnic groups of West Papua are as follows.
Asmat Tribe
Among those tribes in West Papua, the Asmat tribe is indeed the best-known one. There are some reasons why the tribes are popular not only in Indonesia but also in other countries. One of them is because of its traditional artwork. Yes, its wooden craft is very beautiful and unique.
The typical characteristic shown in the wooden crafts by the Asmat tribe is carving. The carving has particular themes, mostly tells about their ancestors, called mbis. Yes, the carving activity is a part of their rituals to commemorate those who have been passed away. Besides, there is also a small ship symbol in the carving that represents a transportation tool to bring their ancestors to heaven.
Dani Tribe
The next biggest and the most popular tribe from the West Papua is the Dani tribe. Most of the tribe members are living in an area namely the Baliem Valley. Meanwhile, the rest spreads in the Jayawijaya Districts and they have blended well with other people. Yes, from many ethnic groups in West Papua, the Dani Tribe is one of them that have been touched by modern civilization.
The tribe members in the Baliem Valley are known as skillful farmers. They are very capable to use tools such as axes, knives and many more. They even make those tools by themselves from materials like animal bones that are indeed strong and resistant to water and weather. The members who live in the valley also still wear traditional clothes including koteka for men and grass skirts for women.
Amungme Tribe
Third, there is the Amungme tribe with a total population of around 13,000 people. Most of them live in the plains of Papua. They also live their life by farming using very traditional and ancient methods. If you are learning history well, you can see that their farming methods are still very similar to methods during prehistoric period.
Although later they are back to their homes, Amungme people are said to live nomadically. Aside from farming, they are also hunting and collecting animals for food. The tribe honors their ancestors along with the land they live in.
They believe that Kawi Mountain where they live is sacred so that strangers should not go there and do anything they want. Unfortunately, the mountain is a source of gold to mine. So, it is not surprising if often, there are clashes among the tribe members and the miners.
Korowai Tribe
The 4th biggest tribe in the West Papua is the Korowai Tribe. The ethnic group lives in the lowland area, particularly the southern Jayawijaya. The area is mostly in the form of swamps, mangrove forests and wetlands. They live as farmers and hunters. Yes, you can say that the tribe members are very skillful in animal hunting.
Their traditional houses are very unique as they are built upon trees. While this tribe lives not too far from the Dani people, their traditional clothes are slightly different. One of them is that the men don’t eat koteka just like Dani males do.
