Central Papua

Central Papua is a province in Indonesia located in the central part of Western New Guinea. It was officially established on November 11, 2022, and covers an area of 61,072.92 km square. It shares borders with West Papua to the west, Papua to the north and northeast, Highland Papua to the east, and South Papua to the southeast. The administrative capital is in Wanggar District, Nabire Regency, with Timika being a larger town.

Central Papua is surrounded by seas in the north and south. Nabire, in the northern part, offers opportunities for marine tourism, featuring coral reefs, white sandy islands, and natural habitats for whale sharks. The southern part, mostly swampy terrain, includes the port of Amamapare and Timika, the largest town. The central region is marked by the Jayawijaya Mountains, housing the snow-capped Puncak Jaya, Indonesia's highest peak, and the Grasberg gold mine operated by Freeport Indonesia.

 History 
Since the 18th century, the Mimika region in western Papua has been influenced by the Tidore Sultanate's "Uli Siwa" on the south-west coast. The Koiwai, Kamoro, and Asmat groups played a significant role, engaging in trade for slaves, ironwares, clothes, and body ornaments. This influence introduced Moluccan titles and Islamic culture, like wearing turbaned hats and abstaining from pork until the 1950s.
The interior of Central Papua is home to tribes like Mee (Ekari) and Moni, known for traditional practices like farming, pig-raising, fishing, and feasting. They use mege currency made from shells. Discovered in the 1930s, these tribes lived around three large lakes—Paniai, Tigi, and Tage. The Dutch named the region Wisselmeeren but later adopted the name Paniai after the colonial era.

After the Round Table Conference in 1949, Dutch New Guinea became an overseas province, with Central New Guinea as one of its districts. In 1954, it was temporarily supervised by the Resident of Geelvinkbaai. In July 2022, Indonesian President Joko Widodo passed a law establishing Central Papua Province. The Wate Tribe community supports Nabire as the capital, with plans for a central government facility and a new airport in Wanggar. The airport project, initiated in 2019, faced delays due to budget shortages.

 Demographics 

Nabire is home to coastal tribes like Yaur, Wate, Mora, Umari, Goa, and Yerisiam. In the mountainous areas, there are tribes like Moi, Mee, and Auye. The region around Paniai Lakes has tribes like Moni and Wolani. Moving east to the Jayawijaya Mountains, you find Amungme, Damalme, Wano, Dani, Lani, and Nduga. The southern part, Mimika Regency, is swampy and inhabited by Mimika (Kamoro) and Sempan. The population of Central Papua was around 1.4 million in the mid-2022 estimate, with about 87% following Christianity, 12% following Islam, and the rest practicing other religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.

 References 

Category:2022 establishments in Indonesia
Category:Provinces of Indonesia
Category:Western New Guinea