Irianese

views updated

Irianese

This new term is sometimes used for the inhabitants of Irian Jaya or West Irian, which is the most easterly province of Indonesia; it was known in colonial times (until 1963) as Dutch New Guinea. While the territory has been part of Indonesia since then, its inhabitants are culturally, linguistically, and racially separate, for they are Papuans and belong to the Melanesian culture area. Specific groups in the region are covered in Volume 2, Oceania.

More From encyclopedia.com