Introducing West New Guinea

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Description

West New Guinea, the Indonesian neighbour of Papua New Guinea is little known to both the academic and scientific, and indeed the world at large, as the Indonesian government jealously guards awarding permits to researchers and foreign journalists.
Explorers and anthropologists wrote extensively about Dutch New Guinea. It is from these books and manuscripts, and newly published materials collected by Dr. Kal Muller, that we now have a concise document for anyone studying West New Guinea. A necessary primer, it gives an extensive overview—the formation of the island, its flora and fauna, peoples and cultures, early trade, and its history till the end of World War II.

Book data

Author

ISBN

Publication Date

September 15, 2021

Binding

Paperback

Size

No. of Pages

116

About the Author

Dr. Kal Muller spent 22 years working and living with two Papuan groups, allowing him access to excellent relations with not just the people but also prominent academics and scientists and their resources.

Table Of Contents

New Guinea Communications                                                                                    v
Foreword                                                                                                                              vii
Introduction                                                                                                                       ix
1.  Geology, geography and climate ……………………2
The breakup of Pangea ………………………………………… 4
New Guinea emerges …………………………………………… 5
The highlands of the central mountain range ………. 6
The Bird’s Head …………………………………………………… 8
2. Biodiversity  …………………………………………………10
Mammals …………………………………………………………..14
Crocodiles and their kin …………………………………….15
Essential fish life …………………………………………………16
Birds-of-paradise ……………………………………………….16
Many insects, some useful, others not ………………..18
Mollusks …………………………………………………………….19
Plant life …………………………………………………………….19
3.  Migration from Africa to New Guinea ………..22
Papuan pioneers in New Guinea …………………………26
4.  Migration from Asia: the Austronesians
become Melanesians (Lapita culture) …………..28
The Austronesians in New Guinea ……………………..31
A vexing question: the timing of the
pigs’ first arrival ………………………………………………….33
What does Melanesia really mean? ……………………..34
A winning combination: the Melanesians …………..35
The language factor …………………………………………….37
5. Coastal and highland contrasts ……………………40
Pigs and sweet potatoes ………………………………………42
Trading: salt, cowries and stone blades ……………….43
6.  Early coastal trade with the outside world ………………….. 46
Lapita and Dongson long-range trading ……………………………….. 48
Trade with Indonesia ……………………………………………………………. 49
Biak: Metal trade and forging ……………………………………………….. 50
Traders from Seram ……………………………………………………………… 51
7.  European annexation, new values and their inland
expansion …………………………………………………………………… 54
The first explorers ………………………………………………………………… 57
Attempts at colonization ………………………………………………………. 59
How The Netherlands acquired West New Guinea ……………….. 60
How West New Guinea became part of the
Dutch East Indies …………………………………………………………………. 62
Bases for colonial claims ………………………………………………………. 62
The Europeans venture inland ……………………………………………… 63
Large-scale expeditions to the central mountains
from the south ……………………………………………………………………… 65
The British team …………………………………………………………………… 66
Expeditions to the central mountains from the north …………… 68
The first use of an airplane in exploring West New Guinea …… 69
The Colijn Expedition of 1936 ……………………………………………… 70
The Archbold expedition discovers the Baliem Valley ………….. 71
The Papuan view ………………………………………………………………….. 73
8.  Opening of the highlands …………………………………………… 76
The Bijlmer expedition …………………………………………………………. 79
Enarotali: the first government post in the highlands …………… 80
Einar Mickelson: evangelical missionary ………………………………. 81
Religious competition: Roman Catholics and Protestants …….. 83
Two versions of Christianity in West New Guinea………………… 84
9. World War II in West New Guinea ……………………………… 88
MacArthur and the War ……………………………………………………….. 91
Beyond Hollandia ………………………………………………………………… 93
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………. 96

About the Series

The aim is to provide a conduit for the publication of studies on the Island of New Guinea, with its two established political divisions, but will also include other associated patterns of islands.
It will enable contributions from new knowledge workers—with their dissertations—and from established scholars. As there are numerous scholars who would like better coverage of the areas in which they have explored—as a tribute to the people they have worked with—as well as local scholars who understand the importance of their unique areas. It is felt that the approaches being trialed in the visual anthropology part of the series as area studies will bring a wider attention to the remarkable nature of the island.
The first volumes will be on modes of communication: oral history and folklore, and the emergence of a local literature. While the representation of all disciplines is welcome, comparative and whole island studies would be of great interest as well. For this, collaborative works or edited volumes may be needed.
It will allow for academic publications of a more preliminary kind—rather than exhaustive monographs, which are becoming more and more impossible to produce.
Where is the knowledge we have lost?