By Kornelis Kewa Ama (edited), January 16 2023

Understanding that Papua is part of the Republic of Indonesia cannot be separated from the history of the archipelago, with the Majapahit Kingdom as a unifier. At that time, West Papua was called the eighth Majapahit. This is revealed in the book Nagarakretagama by Mpu Prapanca. The Dutch presence in Papua in 1528 was marked by the establishment of Fort du Bus Fort in Triton Bay. During independence, the Papuan people also took part in efforts to expel Dutch colonialism.

According to Johszua Robert Mansoben in his research entitled Traditional Political System in Irian Jaya, long before the establishment of the Dutch Colonial Government in Papua Province and West Papua Province on the west coast of Papua, there were several royal areas initially on the Onin Peninsula.

The West coast of Papua has three traditional kingdoms, namely the Rumbati Kingdom, the Fatagar Kingdom and the Atiati Kingdom.

Where the Fatagar kingdom is an Islamic Kingdom founded by the Uswanas clan which is east of the Fakfak District, West Papua. This Kingdom or Petuanan Fatagar has customary territories in the Fakfak and Pariwari Districts.

In his publication, one of the areas under the influence of the Majapahit Kingdom was Onin which was recorded as Wwanin or Wanin.

An expedition in 1937 undertaken, by Leo Frobenius found evidence of settlement at Ugar. So that it can be ascertained that there is a ruler in Ugar.

Based on the publication also mentioned the story of local residents between Teluk Patipi and Rumbati about the Javanese expedition in the 15th century.

Prof. Mohamad Yamin (1903-1962), historian, writer, humanist, politician and legal expert of the Republic of Indonesia, wrote, West Papua is now part of the Majapahit Empire in the XIV century. Prof. Mohamad Yamin strengthened Johszua Robert Mansoben’s research by proving the writings of Mpu Prapanca (1365) in the Nagarakretagama book, in which West Papua was the eighth Majapahit Kingdom.

The poem in the Nagarakretagama book states, among other things, ”Muwah tang I Gurun sanusa mangaram ri Lombok Mirah. Lawan tikang I saksakadi nikalum kahaiyan kabeh muwah tanah  I Bantayan pramuka. Bantayan len Luwu teken.”

“Udamakatrayadhi  nikanang sanusapupul. I kang sakasanusanusa Makasar Butun Banggawan Kuni  Ggaliyao Mwang I (ng) salayu Sumba Solot Muar.”

“Muwah tingang I  Wandan Ambwan athawa Maloko Ewanin.”

“Ri Sran In Timur ning angeka nusatutur.”

In this book, specifically found the names of places in West Papua Province which are considered part of the sovereign territory of the Nusa Majapahit State, such as Wwanin (same as Onin, near Fakfak), Sran (same as Kowiai, the name of a place near Kaimana), and Wandan (somewhere in the islands of West Papua).

The Onin Peninsula, Fakfak, at first glance looks like the ‘lower beak’ of a bird’s head in West Papua. The Nagarakertagama book mentions Onin as a producer of nutmeg, masohi bark, and preserved birds of paradise by local residents. Traders from the island of Java derive economic value from the nutmeg which lies in the nutmeg and mace seeds.

Nutmeg is an essential oil raw material. The mace is used as a flavoring for Chinese dishes. Nutmeg trees grow on most of the mainland of Fakfak, West Papua Province. There are two types of nutmeg in Fakfak, namely Banda nutmeg and Fakfak endemic nutmeg called domestic nutmeg or henggi. Nutmeg fruit and seeds are harvested regularly, twice a year. While masohi bark is an ingredient for herbal medicine and also as a fabric dye.

Unfortunately, Papua has never known written culture. Not a single inscription was found to reveal the area in more detail. There is not a single indication of the existence of a kingdom in Papua. Information that was collected before the arrival of foreigners to Papua was only obtained from local’s folklore.

However, there are several sources who say that in ancient times there were relations between Papua and a number of kingdoms in Nusa Tenggara. In the VII century, traders from Sriwijaya had arrived in Papua and claimed the area belonged to them as “Janggi”.

In the VII century, traders from Sriwijaya had arrived in Papua and claimed the area belonged to them as “Janggi”.

In that century, Sriwijaya was a very large kingdom with a strong fleet. They trade all the way to Maluku and West Papua. The goods that were traded at that time were spices, perfumes, pearls, and bird of paradise feathers. At that time, Srivijaya was also the center of Buddhism and the center of trade with China and India.

In prehistoric times, remains were found in Papua that were the same as in other parts of Indonesia. These include, among others, stone axes or metal stones and paintings on cave walls. For example, paintings in the form of palms and fish bones painted red on cave walls as found at several points on the edge of Bintuni Bay, West Papua. The painting is exactly the same as the painting on one of the cave walls in Leang Pattae, South Sulawesi.

This is proof that the spread of culture in prehistoric times from Southeast Asia through west and east to West Papua existed. There is a close relationship between Papuan culture and other archipelago cultures during prehistoric times.

Apart from that, pottery, pots and stoneware were also found in a number of areas in Papua, which were the same as pottery, pots and stoneware in other parts of Indonesia. These items are not originally made by the Papuan people.

Another similarity, namely the traditional instrument (music) owned by Papua, is also found in Maluku, namely tifa. Tifa has a number of meanings, namely brotherhood, dance, and other entertainment arts. The similarity of these tools shows that the relationship between Papua and Maluku and other parts of Indonesia has been built since time immemorial.

Papua, Maluku, Sulawesi, Bali and Nusa Tenggara were all colonized by the Dutch colonial government. The Dutch arrived in Papua in 1528 after successfully expelling other European nations, namely Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. These four European nations first existed in Papua.

The name Papua was first given by a Portuguese, Don Jorge de Meneses, 1527. He sailed from the Malay Peninsula to the spice area, then met a beach from a large island, and gave the name of the island in ancient Malay, namely “Papuwah”. , meaning ‘curly haired person’.

At the same time came a Spanish fleet leader, Alvaro de Saavedra. He called Papua by the name “Isla del Oro”, which means Golden Island. He found the island when he was sent by the Governor of Spain in Maluku based in Tidore to go to Mexico. He stopped at the North Coast of Papua and saw that the island was very beautiful and rich in natural resources.

After the mention of the golden island, the European nations mentioned above came to Papua. Their presence was then expelled by the Dutch. The Netherlands considers that Papua is its colony as other Indonesian regions.

The presence of the Dutch in Papua in 1528 was marked by the construction of Fort du Bus Fort in Triton Bay, at the foot of Mount Lumenciri, West Papua. Initially, the Netherlands did not care about West Papua because it was considered unprofitable.

However, after the discovery by the Spaniards of the Golden Island, the Dutch became interested and shifted power from the Moluccas to Papua. At that time, Britain and Germany controlled East Papua, now known as Papua New Guinea, while Germany controlled southern Papua.

Dutch attention was increasingly concentrated by being allocated a budget of 115,000 guilders by the Dutch Parliament to establish Dutch rule in West Papua in 1898. At that time West Papua was also divided into two regions, namely Afdeeling Noord Nieuw Guinea (northern part), and Afdeeling West en Zuid Nieuw Guinea (west and south Papua). The two Afdeelings are part of the Maluku Residency.

Since that time the VOC began to rule in West Papua. The monopoly system implemented by the Dutch, in addition to reducing people’s opportunities to trade, the Dutch also often interfered in the internal affairs of the tribes in Papua. Hatred of the Dutch began to appear.

In 1870, Raja Tidore Nuku led the resistance against the Dutch in Raja Ampat. Nuku succeeded in playing the Dutch against the British (East Papua) so that he could expel the Dutch from Tidore, Maluku, and Raja Ampat and West Papua. Nuku’s victory was supported by the people of West Papua.

In 1934, King Kokas in Bintuni Bay, M Rumagesang Al Alam Umar Sekar, refused to hand over the mining money received from the people to the Dutch. The money was distributed among the people. Rumagesang was arrested by the Dutch and imprisoned in Jayapura in 1945. He was the first to demand that Papua be united with Indonesia, which had just declared its independence.

The hatred of the people of West Papua for the Dutch is widespread throughout Papua, as written in the book Irian Damai by MR Dayoh. He’s an eyewitness. When the Dutch expeditionary group led by Van EE Choud arrived in the Baliem Valley in 1945, this group was rejected by the Baliem people. Van EE Choud himself was hit by an arrow. The expedition team also left Baliem for Maluku.

Following then a number of movements against the Dutch in West Papua. The leaders of the rebellion against the Dutch at that time were, among others, Sugoro and Colonel Abdul Kadir Djojoatmojo.

Meanwhile war leaders from indigenous West Papuans, among others, Martin Indey, Rumkorem, Silas Papare, and Frans Kaisiepo. When Indey was exiled by the Dutch in Serui, he met Dr. Samratulangi who had already been exiled there. The two of them also developed a strategy to expel the Dutch from West Papua with the community.

The unification of West Papua into the Republic of Indonesia NKRI is the same as retracing the power of the eighth Majapahit Kingdom in the region. Majapahit’s dream of uniting the entire archipelago was realized eternally. Also traces of the history of the Sriwijaya kingdom which had built trade relations with Papua in the VII century, were united, within the framework of “Unity in Diversity”. Is different but still one.