The Papuan Culture: An Anthropological Review
Abstract
This article which focuses on discussions about Papuan people and their culture in general. For that reason, general Papuan culture is discussed based on cultural elements, i.e. social structure, political system, belief system and religion, livelihood system and ecological environment, cultural value and the work ethic of Papuans. The characteristics of Papuan culture are so diverse that the style of each culture is influenced by ecological conditions. Research shows that Papuan culture is highly compound with complex life patterns, every ethnic group who inhabits a certain ecological condition generates a different order, e.g. those who live in mountainous regions, swamp area, littoral, foothills and valleys. In the end, they show a specific cultural style in terms of work ethic, livelihood system, political system and local leadership and highly varied social structures. The occurrence of contact to outsider bring about, outside their local beliefs, the Abrahamic Religion e.g., Christianity, Catholicism and Islam, into Papuan people’s life.