goodmorningpapua.com – Papua has the most local languages in Indonesia. Even, the total of those exceeds 300 languages. Papua is the most eastern province of Indonesia. Papua is also often referred to as West Papua because Papua refers to the entire island of Nugini including the eastern half of the neighboring country, east New Guinea or Papua Nugini.
West Papua is the name preferred by nationalists who want to separate themselves from Indonesia and form their own state. This province used to be known as West Irian since 1969-1973, its name was later changed to Irian Jaya by then President Suharto in the inauguration of the Freeport copper and gold mine, a name that remained in official use until 2002. The name of this province was changed to Papua in accordance with Law No. 21/2001 Special Autonomy for Papua. During the Dutch colonial era, this area was called Dutch New Guinea (Dutch New Guinea).
The origin of the word of Irian is Ikut Republic Indonesia Anti-Netherland (Irian). The word Papua derives from the Malay language which means curly hair, a picture that refers to the physical appearance of the indigenous tribes. In 2004, accompanied by various protests, Papua was divided into two provinces by the Indonesian government, the eastern part continued to use the name Papua while the western part became West Irian Jaya which is now the province of West Papua.
Since 30 June 2022 the province is divided into five provinces. The divided provinces include Central Papua, Mountains Papua, and South Papua. While the western part was first divided into West Papua Province. Previously, Papua Province had an area of 312,224.37 km2 and was the first largest and largest province in Indonesia.
There are more than 300 regional languages in western Papua (the provinces of Papua and West Papua). Their names are formed from Papua’s long history, including during colonialism and interactions with surrounding tribes, interactions with zending bodies, and other non-scientific activities.