New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Indonesian: Papua,
historically, Irian) is a large island separated by the shallow Torres Strait
from the rest of the Australian continent. It is the world's second-largest
island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq
mi), and the largest island wholly or partly within the Southern Hemisphere
and Oceania.
The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent
state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea
or West Papua,[1] forms a part of Indonesia and comprises the provinces of
Papua and West Papua.
Contents
1 Names
2 Geography
3 Relation to surroundings
4 Human presence
5 Political divisions
6 People
7 Biodiversity and ecology
7.1 Ecoregions
7.1.1 Terrestrial
7.1.2 Freshwater
7.1.3 Marine
8 History
8.1 Early history
8.2 Precolonial history
8.3 European contact
8.4 World War II
8.5 Since World War II
9 Religions
10 See also
11 Notes and references
12 Bibliography
13 External links
Names
A typical map from the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. Australasia
during the Golden Age of Dutch exploration and discovery (c. 1590s–1720s):
including Nova Guinea (New Guinea), Nova Hollandia (mainland Australia),
Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), and Nova Zeelandia (New Zealand)
The island has been known by various names:
The name Papua was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with
the West.[2] Its etymology is unclear;[2] one theory states that it derived
from Tidore, the language used by the Sultanate of Tidore, which controlled
parts of the island's coastal region.[3] The name apparently comes from the
words papo (to unite) and ua (negation), which means "not united" or,
"territory that geographically is far away (and thus not united)".[3][4]
Ploeg reports that the word papua is often said to be derived from the Malay
word papua or pua-pua, meaning "frizzly-haired", referring to the highly curly
hair of the inhabitants of these areas.[5] Another possibility, put forward by
Sollewijn Gelpke in 1993, is that it comes from the Biak phrase sup i papwa
which means 'the land below [the sunset]' and refers to the islands west of
the Bird's Head, as far as Halmahera.[6] Whatever its origin, the name Papua
came to be associated with this area, and more especially with Halmahera,
which was known to the Portuguese by this name during the era of their
colonization in this part of the world.
When the Portuguese and Spanish explorers arrived in the island via the
Spice Islands, they also referred to the island as Papua.[3] However, the
name New Guinea was later used by Westerners starting with the Spanish
explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez in 1545, referring to the similarities of the
indigenous people's appearance with the natives of the Guinea region of
Africa.[3] The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies,
ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to
the dark skin of the inhabitants.
The Dutch, who arrived later under Jacob Le Maire and Willem Schouten,
called it Schouten island, but later this name was used only to refer to
islands off the north coast of Papua proper, the Schouten Islands or Biak
Island. When the Dutch colonized it as part of Netherlands East Indies, they
called it Nieuw Guinea.[3]
The name Irian was used in the Indonesian language to refer to the island
and Indonesian province, as "Irian Jaya Province". The name was promoted in
1945 by Marcus Kaisiepo,[2] brother of the future governor Frans Kaisiepo. It
is taken from the Biak language of Biak Island, and means "to rise", or "rising
spirit". Irian is the name used in the Biak language and other languages such
as Serui, Merauke and Waropen.[3] The name was used until 2001, when the
name Papua was again used for the island and the province. The name Irian,
which was originally favored by natives, is now considered to be a name
imposed by the authority of Jakarta.[2]
