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Biak people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biak people
Kawasa Byak, Er Byak
A Biak man wearing his traditional clothes.
Total population
204,415 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Biak Numfor • Supiori • Raja Ampat • Yapen Islands • Manokwari • Jayapura • Sorong
Languages
Biak, Papuan Malay, Indonesian
Religion
Christianity (majority), Islam (minority)[2]
Related ethnic groups
Ma'ya • Abun • Yapen • Wasior • Sawai
A house on the shore of Biak beach with livestock next to the house.

Biak people are an ethnic group originating from the Biak Islands in Cenderawasih Bay, just off the north coast of Papua, Indonesia. The Biak people have several sub-tribes, such as the Aimando, Betew, Kafdaron, Karon, Usba, Wardo, and Kaipuri, most of whom have migrated and settled on the north coast of Papua and the Raja Ampat Islands since the 15th century.[3]

Etymology

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The naming of Biak itself began during the Dutch colonial era in the 17th century, the Dutch gave the name of the Biak-Numfor archipelago as Schouten Eilanden. Some also call it Numfor, Mafor, Wiak, or Vyak. The phoneme [w] in the word "Wiak" actually comes from the phoneme [v] which then changes to [b] so that the word "Biak" appears, while the word "Biak-Numfor", with a horizontal line connecting the two words, used officially to name the area and population that inhabit the islands located north of Cenderawasih Bay.

Oral folklore in the form of a myth (mite) tells that the name Biak comes from the Burdam clan who left Biak Island due to their quarrel with the Mandowen clan. According to the story, the Burdam clan decided to leave Warmambo Island (the original name of Biak Island) to settle somewhere far away, so that Warmambo Island disappears from sight. When they left the island, occasionally looking back they saw that Warmambo Island was still visible above sea level. This condition causes them to say, "v'iak wer" or "v'iak", meaning 'he appears again'. The word "v'iak" was later used by those who went to name Warmambo Island.

Meanwhile, the name Numfor comes from the name of the island and the group of native inhabitants of Numfor Island. The merging of the names Biak and Numfor into one name and its official use occurred when the regional council was formed in the Schouten Eilanden, named the Biak-Numfor Regional Council, in 1959.[4]

Origin

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The Biak people who inhabit the Biak Islands are known as formidable ocean explorers. Just like the abilities of the Bugis people, they explored the seas from the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, Java, to the Malacca Peninsula. The exploration of the Biak people was carried out because of the motive of its geographical location which was less economically productive, less fertile land resulting in a shortage of food sources, apart from that there are also reasons of competition (korfandi), namely the existence of disputes between ethnic groups, as well as disputes over customary rules within the Biak people. However, the thing that most motivated the Biak people to explore was the need for food, which at that time was a prolonged drought in Biak, starting sailing around Cenderawasih Bay to the Raja Ampat Islands. Due to their resilience, they controlled the trade and political aspects in the coastal areas of northern Papua. Evidence of the power of the Biak people can be seen from the naming of several cities on the north coast of Papua which use words in the Biak language, among others Manokwari from the word mnuk war which means 'old village', and Sorong which comes from the word soren.

A replica of a Biak traditional ship called a wai roon or waiwor.

The trading activities of the Biak people use a trading partnership system between friends called manibobi, namely by sailing and trading around. The commodities they traded included sago, bark mesoyi, paradise bird, and slaves. They sell various commodities to several archipelagos Yapen-Waropen, Wondama Bay, and Dore Bay, Manokwari, Amberbaken, until it spreads to various waters of the archipelago. The Biak people also had trade relations with sailors from Ternate, Tidore, Halmahera, Flores, Gebe, Sulawesi, Buton, Seram, and China. As a result of this trading partnership, the Biak sailors obtained goods in the form of porcelain from China, beads, machetes, iron spears, bracelets made of iron or metal, as well as various types of cloth from the region and several areas visited. Even the sailors of the Biak people during the Dutch colonial era were known as Papoesche Zeerovers which means 'the Papuan pirates'. They sailed using traditional sailing boats wai roon which were usually used for war with other ethnic groups and capturing slaves. The wai mansusu and wai papan were used for trading. The Biak people has also mastered good navigational science by relying on the constellations, usually the stars Orion (Sawakoi) and Scorpio (Romanggwandi).[5]

Tradition

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Korwar statue for religious rituals of the Biak people

Wor

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The Biak people still have an ancient culture that refers to local animist beliefs before the arrival of the Gospel in Papua. This belief system is further emphasized through a series of ritual ceremonies called Wor. Wor in Biak language means 'traditional song and dance'. A child who is affected by an epidemic is considered to have bad luck, failure in farming, even accidents are considered a disaster so that traditional ceremonies must be held to ward off illness or danger. Wor is an expression of the activities of all aspects of the life of the Biak people. Several traditional ceremonies that are still often performed by the Biak people are called Wor traditions.

Iyakyaker

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The Iyakyaker tradition of the Biak people, namely the tradition of giving a dowry, including pigs, beads, jars, antique plates, plantation products, marine products, hunted animals, and various other assets owned. Antique plates (ben bepon) and jars are still often found in Biak traditional rituals. The giving of a dowry is also known as ararem.[6] This ararem can be collected through the traditional procession of the Biak people from childhood to adulthood. These include taking the child out of the room, carrying the child, cutting hair, Taking a child to church all of this must be done with the payment of a dowry from the clan or in-laws in the Biak traditional customs. This ararem will later be stored in a special place called arem. After determining the prospective child-in-law, the parents will invite maternal uncles and aunts to propose marriage. If the woman accepts the man's proposal, the woman will propose the amount of the dowry to the man. The amount of the dowry (mahar) is usually determined by the woman's status, which can be seen from her family background, virginity, as well as beauty and currently the education factor also determines the amount of the dowry. Another unique thing when delivering the dowry in the form of antique plates and vases is the presence of the Red and White Flag as a symbol of the national emblem accompanying the dowry procession, This tradition has only developed since Papua became part of Indonesia in 1963. On the other hand, the woman who has accepted the man's family also prepares something in the form of household goods so that in living her life in the future she will not experience difficulties. Apart from that, it also becomes a basic attitude for women which in the future will not result in a negative assessment from men.[7]

Culture

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Wooden house in Biak, 2007
Portrait of a Biak woman

Traditional food

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The traditional food and staple food of the Biak people is pokem or otong which is more popularly known as 'Papuan wheat'. Pokem is a flour from the monocotyledon class of plants, gramineae family, sorghum genus, sorghum rumbrawer (L) species similar to wheat (avena sativa). This plant is native and cultivated by the Biak people as a staple food on Numfor Island. It resembles rice, but with smaller stalks. The plant lives for 90 days, and the pods can be harvested every three months. This means it can produce four harvests a year. For the Biak people, there are five types of pokem plants, consisting of pokem resyek (brown pokem), pokem verik (red pokem), pokem vepyoper (white pokem), pokem vepaisem (black pokem), and pokem venanyar (yellow pokem).[8]

The process of processing pokem by removing the pokem grains from the stalk, the grains are pounded to remove the skin, similar to the process of turning rice into rice, then sifting to separate the grains and the skin of the rice. Pokem is then ground again until smooth, and ready to be cooked. The cooking process itself involves boiling the pokem flour with water then adding thick coconut milk to make it tasty, stir until thick, then add granulated sugar and milk, stir until yellowish and then ready to serve.[9]

Padwa old cemetery

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The Padwa old cemetery area of the Biak people in Urfu village, Biak Kota district.
Biak skulls in the Padwa old cemetery.
Example of a grave in a wooden coffin at Wari Beach, 1907.

The Swabra clan is an old clan of the Biak people located in Padwa village, Yendidori district. In Padwa village, still find old graves in the crevices of the coral cliffs on the beach, skulls on the edge of the cliff, or in wooden coffins that are still neatly arranged. This relates to the burial customs of the Biak people in ancient times. However, since the Gospel entered Biak in 1855, this traditional burial has rarely been carried out.[10]

Notable people

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Frans Kaisiepo, Indonesian national hero
Johannes Abraham Dimara, Major of the Indonesian National Army
Hans Wospakrik, Indonesian physicist
Nitya Krishinda Maheswari, Indonesian badminton player

Politician/statesman

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Military figures

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Religious figures

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Activists

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  • Marthen Abrauw, the traditional head of the Abrauw clan from North Biak, who raised concerns about the construction of the Biak Spaceport
  • Viktor Kaisiepo, West Papuan independence activist
  • Fred C. Mambrasar, West Papuan independence activist
  • Seth Jafet Rumkorem, West Papuan independence activist
  • Raki Ap, West Papuan independence activist and son of Arnold Clemens Ap

Educational and scientific figures

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Cultural figures/artists

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Athletes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono (14 July 2015). Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity (Table 4.38 The 145 Ethnic Groups: Indonesia, 2010). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-981-4519-87-8. Retrieved 29 August 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Umat Muslim Suku Biak Sorong Raya Gelar Halal Bi Halal, Ini Pesan Ustadz Idwar". www.orideknews.com (in Indonesian). Oridek News. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  3. ^ Ronsumbre, Adolof (2020). Ensiklopedia Suku Bangsa di Provinsi Papua Barat (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kepel Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-602-356-318-0.
  4. ^ "Sejarah Singkat - Provinsi Papua". papua.go.id (in Indonesian). Papua Provincial Government. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Suku Biak, Suku Vikingnya Papua". historia.id (in Indonesian). Historia. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Ararem - Budaya Indonesia". budaya-indonesia.com (in Indonesian). Budaya Indonesia. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Tradisi Iyakyaker Suku Biak Numfor". kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id (in Indonesian). Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Pokem Gandum - Budaya Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Budaya Indonesia. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Pokem" (PDF). papua.litbang.pertanian.go.id (in Indonesian). Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  10. ^ "Pekuburan Tua Padwa - Budaya Indonesia". budaya-indonesia.org (in Indonesian). Budaya Indonesia. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
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