West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya Barat, is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula and the Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby smaller islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by Southwest Papua, the Halmahera Sea and the Ceram Sea, to the south by the Banda Sea, and to the east by the province of Central Papua and the Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is the province's capital and largest city. West Papua is the second-least populous province in Indonesia. It had a population of 1,134,068 at the 2020 Census, and the official estimate for mid-2022 was 1,183,307. However, the total area and population was reduced by the Parliamentary decision on 17 November 2022 to create a 38th province of Indonesia, comprising Sorong city and the regencies of Sorong, South Sorong, Raja Ampat, Maybrat and Tambrauw; this new province, called Southwest Papua, came into existence from 8 December 2022. The reduced West Papua Province thus had a mid-2022 population estimated at only 561,403.
The West Papuan languages are a proposed language family of about two dozen non-Austronesian languages of the Bird's Head Peninsula of far western New Guinea, the island of Halmahera and its vicinity, spoken by about 220,000 people in all. It is not established if they constitute a proper linguistic family or an areal network of genetically unrelated families.
The South Halmahera–West New Guinea (SHWNG) languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, found in the islands and along the shores of the Halmahera Sea in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and of Cenderawasih Bay in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. There are 38 languages.
The Bird's Head Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula, is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces of Southwest Papua and West Papua. It is often referred to as The Vogelkop, and is so named because its shape looks like a bird's head on the island of New Guinea. The peninsula at the opposite end of the island is called the Bird's Tail Peninsula. The peninsula just to the south is called the Bomberai Peninsula.
Sougb, or Sogh, is a Papuan language of the East Bird's Head language family spoken in the east of the Bird's Head Peninsula to the east of Meyah and to the south of Manokwari, including the area of Soug Jaya District, Teluk Wondama Regency. It consists of four dialects and is spoken by around 12,000 people in all. The language is alternatively known as Mantion, or Manikion, an originally derogatory term used by the Biak people.
The South Bird's Head or South Doberai languages are three families of Papuan languages. They form part of the Trans–New Guinea languages in the classifications of Malcolm Ross (2005) and Timothy Usher (2020), though Pawley and Hammarström (2018) do not consider them to be part of Trans–New Guinea. However, according to Dryer (2022), based on a preliminary quantitative analysis of data from the ASJP database, South Bird's Head languages are likely to be a subgroup of Trans–New Guinea.
New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east.
Makolkol is a possible Papuan language formerly spoken on the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain Province on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Stebbins (2010) reports it is unattested. Palmer (2018) treats it as unclassified.
Saukorem is a coastal village in Amberbaken, Tambrauw Regency of Southwest Papua, Indonesia, located about 125 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Manokwari. The town is located on the northern coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula and administratively it is the principal settlement of Amberbaken subdistrict of the Tambrauw.
Kwoor or Koor is a village in Kwoor, Tambrauw Regency of Southwest Papua, Indonesia on the northern coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula. As of 1994 it was reported to have a population of 589 people.
Sausapor is a small town and District in the Tambrauw Regency of Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The town is located on the northern coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula, also known as the Vogelkop Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the kecamatan has a population of 2,633, and more recent figures reveal around 1000 people living in the main town of Sausapor. Sausapor is a major breeding ground for sea turtles and bird habitat.
West Bird's Head languages are a small family of poorly documented Papuan languages spoken on the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea.
Mpur, is a language isolate spoken in and around Mpur and Amberbaken Districts in Tambrauw Regency of the Bird's Head Peninsula, New Guinea. It is not closely related to any other language, and though Ross (2005) tentatively assigned it to the West Papuan languages, based on similarities in pronouns, Palmer (2018), Ethnologue, and Glottolog list it as a language isolate.
Abun, also known as Yimbun, Anden, Manif, or Karon Pantai, is a Papuan language spoken by the Abun people along the northern coast of the Bird's Head Peninsula in Sausapor District, Tambrauw Regency. It is not closely related to any other language, and though Ross (2005) assigned it to the West Papuan family, based on similarities in pronouns, Palmer (2018), Ethnologue, and Glottolog list it as a language isolate.
Sumuri or Sumeri is a language spoken in Sumuri District, Teluk Bintuni Regency on the Bomberai Peninsula by about a thousand people.
The Suabo or Inanwatan is a Papuan language of West Papua. It is often classified in the South Bird's Head language family, but may alternatively form an independent language family together with Duriankere.
The Abun, previously also known as Wen and Karon, are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Sausapor district of the Tambrauw Regency in the province of Southwest Papua. They speak the Abun language. They live in the Sausapor, Jokte, Emaos and Uigwem villages of Sausapor and are of the clans Yekwam, Yenjau, Yeblo, Yesnath, Yenbra, Yenggrem, Yesomkor, Yerin, Yeror, Yewen, Yemam and Yesian.
Southwest Papua is the 38th province of Indonesia and was split off from West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named southwest, it is a misnomer and this province is actually located in the northwest edge of Papua. The province comprises the Greater Sorong area which consists of Sorong City, Sorong Regency, South Sorong Regency, Maybrat Regency, Tambrauw Regency, and Raja Ampat Regency. The Draft Law (RUU) on the Establishment of the Southwest Papua Province was passed into law and therefore it became the 38th province in Indonesia.
Indonesia 