Understanding the culture of West Papua is perhaps far from easy. Majority of people would say that the region does not have a culture whatsoever, but it’s far from the truth. Collectively, the culture may be considered nonexistent. But when we talk about cultural diversity, perhaps no land on earth can compete with this remote territory.
Yes, the fact that West Papua is the home of more than 250 different tribes contributes to this confusion. Every single tribe in the region has its own specific custom, culture, language, and more. Each of the culture variety is unique and has zero relation to the other, making it one of the richest region in the world. Not only in natural resources, but also cultures and traditions.
The only common ground that makes each of these great varieties seem related is none other than their genealogy relation. Even then, the relation is mostly disordered. To add to that, large number of different languages spoken by these incredibly diverse tribes also makes it more confusing. Understanding the West Papuan cultures may be challenging, but it does not necessarily mean impossible.
