Indigenous people of New Guinea

Indigenous people of New Guinea

The Indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea and of Western New Guinea in Indonesia, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands: a first wave from the Malay Archipelago perhaps 50,000 years ago when New Guinea and Australia were a single landmass called Sahul and, much later, a wave of Austronesian people from the north who introduced Austronesian languages and pigs about 3,500 years ago. They also left a small but significant genetic trace in many coastal Papuan peoples.

Linguistically, Papuans speak languages from the many families of non-Austronesian languages that are found only on New Guinea and neighboring islands, as well as Austronesian languages along parts of the coast, and recently developed creoles such as Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Unserdeutsch, and Papuan Malay.

The term "Papuan" is used in a wider sense in linguistics and anthropology. In linguistics, "Papuan languages" is a cover term for the diverse, mutually unrelated, non-Austronesian language families spoken in Melanesia, the Torres Strait Islands, and parts of Wallacea. In anthropology, "Papuan" is often used to denote the highly diverse aboriginal populations of Melanesia and Wallacea prior to the arrival of Austronesian-speakers, and the dominant genetic traces of these populations in the current ethnic groups of these areas.

Children dressed up for sing‑sing in Papua New Guinea.

Languages

Indigenous people of New Guinea

The language families in Ross's conception of the Trans-New Guinea language family.

Ethnologue's 14th edition lists 826 languages of Papua New Guinea and 257 languages of Western New Guinea, a total of 1083 languages, with 12 languages overlapping. If we adopt the figure proposed by Glottolog for Papua New Guinea, namely 928 languages, the total is even higher. This corresponds to 15% of the world's 7700 languages.

In terms of linguistic families, the indigenous languages of New Guinea can be divided into two groups: 283 languages belong to the Austronesian family, and the other 858 are non-Austronesian—a grouping commonly described as "Papuan languages" for convenience.

The term Papuan languages refers to an areal grouping, rather than a linguistic one. So-called "Papuan" languages are distributed into as many as eighty unrelated linguistic phyla, including 43 families and 37 isolates.

Origin and genetics

Indigenous people of New Guinea

The origin of Papuans is generally associated with the first settlement of Australasia by a lineage dubbed 'Australasians' or 'Australo-Papuans' during the Initial Upper Paleolithic, which is "ascribed to a population movement with uniform genetic features and material culture" (Ancient East Eurasians), and sharing deep ancestry with modern East Asian peoples and other Asia-Pacific groups. It is estimated that people reached Sahul (the geological continent consisting of Australia and New Guinea) between 50,000 and 37,000 years ago. Rising sea levels separated New Guinea from Australia about 10,000 years ago. However, Aboriginal Australians and Papuans had diverged genetically much earlier, around 40,000 years BP. Papuans are more closely related to Melanesians than to Aboriginal Australians.

Haplogroups

The majority of Papuan Y-DNA Haplogroups belong to subclades of Haplogroup MS, and Haplogroup C1b2a. The frequency of each haplogroup varies along geographic clines.

Autosomal DNA

The genetic makeup of Papuans is primarily derived from Ancient East Eurasians, which relates them to other mainland Asian groups such as the "AASI", Andamanese, as well as East/Southeast Asians, although although there is possible gene flow from an earlier Out-of-Africa group (xOoA), around 2%, next to additional archaic Denisovan admixture in the Sahul region. Papuans may harbor varying degrees of deep admixture from "a lineage basal to West and East-Eurasians which occurred sometimes between 45 and 38kya", although they are generally regarded "as a simple sister group of Tianyuan" ("Basal East Asians"). They are also closely related to Andamanese Onge and East Asians and mainly differ due to their Denisovan admixture. According to a 2025 study, Papuans are a sister group to East Asians with no genetic input from earlier Out-of-African populations. They diverged from Europeans and East Asians about 51.2 and 46.2 thousand years ago respectively and mixed with Denisovans about 31.2 thousand years ago, contributing to about 3.23% of their genetic makeup. Compared to Europeans and East Asians, Papuans also experienced severe bottlenecking.

PCA plot of genetic variation of worldwide populations. Papuans (green) cluster relative close to other East Eurasians, such as East/Southeast Asians.

Papuans display pronounced genetic diversity, explained through isolation and drift between different subgroups after the settlement of New Guinea. The most notable differentiation was found to be between Highlanders and Lowlanders. Papuan Highlanders fall into three clusters, but form a single clade compared against Lowlanders. The Highlanders underwent a population bottleneck around 10,000 years ago, associated with the adoption of Neolithic lifestyles. Papuan Lowlanders display increased diversity and can be broadly differentiated into a Southern Lowlander cluster and a Northern Lowlander cluster. The genetic differentiation among Papuans is suggested to date back at least 20kya, while the sub-structure among Highlanders dates back around 10kya, with higher diversity among western Highlanders than Eastern ones. The genetic diversity is paralleled by linguistic and cultural diversity.

East Asian-related admixture is also observed in modern Papuans, especially coastal Papuan groups.

Based on a reevaluation of mitogenomes, Gandini et al. 2025 proposed a "long chronology", which suggested an earlier settlement of Sahul by two migration routes about ~60 ka. One route came from northern Sunda via the Philippine archipelago whilst the other came from southern Sunda via Mainland Southeast Asia, with both routes ultimately tracing back to South Asia. The settlers that undertook these routes were ancestral to populations indigenous to Australia, New Guinea and Oceania, and related to other East Eurasians instead of belonging to a separate wave.

Archaic introgression

Based on his genetic studies of the Denisova hominin, an ancient human species discovered in 2010, Svante Pääbo claims that ancient human ancestors of the Papuans interbred in Asia with these humans. He has found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with the Denisovans, indicating this exchange. Denisovan introgressions may have influenced the immune system of present-day Papuans and potentially favoured "variants to immune-related phenotypes" and "adaptation to the local environment".

ASPM gene

In a 2005 study of ASPM gene variants, Mekel-Bobrov et al. found that the Papuan people have among the highest rate of the newly evolved ASPM Haplogroup D, at 59.4% occurrence of the approximately 6,000-year-old allele. While it is not yet known exactly what selective advantage is provided by this gene variant, the haplogroup D allele is thought to be positively selected in populations and to confer some substantial advantage that has caused its frequency to rapidly increase.

Papuan ethnic groups

Indigenous people of New Guinea

• Yali in the Yahukimo Regency, Indonesia • Melanesian girls from Papua New Guinea • Papuan people in folk dress in Jakarta • Newly married Kayu Batu couple in Jayapura, Indonesia

The following indigenous peoples live within the modern borders of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Austronesian-speaking (AN) groups are given in italics.

West Papua

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of West Papua include: Arfak (Hatam, Meyah, Moile, dan Sougb), Borai, Numfor-Doreri, Irarutu, Koiwai, Kuri, Madewana, Mairasi, Maniwak, Mbaham-Matta, Miere, Moru, Moskona, Napiti, Oburauw, Roon, Roswar, Sebyar (Damban-Kimbaran) , Soviar, Sumuri, Wamesa, Warumba, Waruri, Wondama.

Magasa dance of the Arfak people

Southwest Papua

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua include Abun, Ambel, Batanta, Biak (Betew, Kafdaron, Karon, Usba, Wardo), Biga, Butlih, Domu, Duriankere, Gebe (Gag), Fiawat, Imekko (Inanwatan-Bira, Matemani-Iwaro, Kais, Awe, Kokoda-Emeyode), Irires, Ma'ya (Kawe, Laganyan, Wawiyai), Matbat-Matlow, Maybrat (Ayamaru, Mare, Karon Dori-Miyah, Aifat, Aitinyo, Wayer), Moi-Ma'ya, Moi, Mpur, Nerigo, Tehit, Tepin, Yahadian, Yaben-Konda.

The Maybrat people near Lake Ayamaru, 1930s

Papua

A Biak man wearing his traditional clothes

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of Papua include:

Jayapura City
Jayapura Regency
Sarmi Regency
Keerom Regency
Biak Numfor Regency
Waropen Regency
Yapen Islands Regency
Mamberamo Raya Regency

Highland Papua

Nduga people gather in Kenyam for peace in ethnic conflict.

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua include:

Jayawijaya Regency
Nduga Regency
Yalimo Regency
Pegunungan Bintang Regency
Tolikara Regency
Yahukimo Regency

Central Papua

Four Yaur men, including one korano (village head) in Kwatisore

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of Central Papua include:

Deiyai Regency
Dogiyai Regency
Intan Jaya Regency
Mimika Regency
Nabire Regency
Paniai Regency
Puncak Regency
Puncak Jaya Regency

South Papua

Papuan ethnic groups/tribes in the Indonesian province of South Papua include:

Merauke Regency
Asmat Regency
Mappi Regency
Boven Digoel Regency

Languages

Indigenous people of New Guinea

The official Agency for Language Development and Cultivation linguistic map of 325 native Papuan languages in Papua (Indonesia) alone (not including other Papuan languages beyond Papua in Eastern Indonesia as a whole).

According to the official Indonesian national linguistic data, there are at least 428 living Papuan languages (and 37 Papua-based isolate languages) natively spoken by the Papuans in Indonesia alone belonging to either Papuan or Austronesian language families, making it the most linguistically diverse community in Indonesia. Papuan languages are also spoken outside of New Guinea such as the Timor–Alor–Pantar speakers in Timor, Alor, and Pantar, as well as North Halmahera in Maluku Islands.

As part of the Indonesian nationals, the Papuans also speak Indonesian, it is an official and national language of Indonesia, and its regional dialects such as Papuan Malay and Serui Malay, which also spoken by their fellow Papuans in Papua New Guinea, especially in the border areas.

Cultures and traditions

Carving

Asmat sculptor in Indonesia

Carving (especially wood carving) in Indonesian Papuan culture is not merely decorative—it embodies a deep connection to the spirit world, tradition, and community identity. It is a significant artistic and cultural tradition among many Indigenous Papuan communities in Indonesia, especially in regions like Asmat, Kamoro, and Sentani. These carvings are deeply symbolic and often tied to spiritual beliefs, ancestral worship, and daily life.

Showcase of Mimika (Kamoro) wood carvings

Among the Asmat Papuans, for example, wood carving is highly developed and serves ritual purposes. They create bis poles, tall carved wooden poles made to honor ancestors and used in funerary ceremonies. The carvings typically depict human figures, animals, and mythological symbols representing strength, protection, and spiritual connection. Meanwhile, Sentani artists are famous for carving motifs into wooden bark paintings and household items, often featuring spiral patterns and stylized figures.

Mummification

Mummy of Weropak Elosak

In some highland communities, such as the Dani tribespeople in the Baliem Valley, mummification called akonipuk is a traditional practice used to honor and preserve the bodies of important tribal leaders or warriors. The process involves smoking the corpse over a fire for weeks to dry and preserve it, often in a sitting position. These mummies are then kept in special huts and are considered sacred, symbolizing ancestral strength and leadership. This tradition is now rare and mostly preserved as cultural heritage. Similar mummification traditions are practiced by the Mee, the Moni, the Lani, the Eipo, among others.

Noken

Woven noken made from Pandan leaves, common in coastal areas

Noken, the traditional knitted or woven bag, an invention of the Indonesian Papuan people, is internationally inscribed as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2012.

Knitted noken made from Melinjo bark, common in highland areas

It is also inspired the Noken system, a unique electoral method used in Indonesia. Instead of individual voting, community leaders (Papuan tribal chiefs) vote on behalf of their people, often through consensus or traditional customs. This system respects local indigenous Papuan traditions and emphasizes communal decision-making rather than individual ballots. This system also known colloquially as 'Papuan hanging bag system' (named after the hanging Noken).

In popular culture

Indigenous people of New Guinea

Indonesian Papuan youth in a tarik tambang (lit. 'rope pulling') competition, during Indonesian Independence Day celebrations

Indonesian Papuans have gained increasing recognition in popular culture (nationwide in Indonesia and internationally), particularly in the movie and music industries. In Indonesian cinema, Papuan actors have been cast in leading roles, portraying authentic stories from their communities and highlighting the region's unique cultural identity. In the music scene, Papuan artists have also emerged in mainstream competitions and platforms, showcasing powerful vocals and distinct musical styles rooted in their heritage. This growing representation reflects a broader movement toward inclusion and appreciation of Papua's contributions to Indonesia's cultural diversity.

Movies

• Denias, Senandung di Atas Awan (2006) (lit. 'Denias, the Hum Above the Clouds') • Tanah Mama (2015) (lit. 'the Land of Mother') • Si Tikam Polisi Noken (2022) (lit. 'Si Tikam, the Noken Policeman') • Zabur (Bukan) Nabi (2023) (lit. 'Psalm (Not) the Prophet')