Melanesian Population – Melanesia is a geographical designation for several parts of eastern Indonesia.
The Melanesian population is spread mainly in West Papua and also East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and North Maluku.
Melanesian Term
It may sound foreign when mentioning the term Melanesian.
However, it is the opposite for some areas of eastern Indonesia, especially East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, West Papua, Maluku, and North Maluku.
The word Melanesian is rooted in the Greek word Melas and Nesos. “Melas,” which means black, and “Nesos,” which means islands.
This mention was first used by adventurers from Europe, specifically the French state, J. Dumont d’Urville.
Around the 19th century, d’Urville used the term to designate a race or ethnicity and grouped island groups ranging from Polynesia and Micronesia.
But the term Melanesian ethnicity is now only use for geographical designations.
Melanesian History
The Melanesian population is estimate to have existe since 70 thousand years ago when the first inhabitants reach what is now know as the Torres Strait Islands at the end of the ice age.
As for that era, the temperature dropped to the coldest point, so the sea waters froze.
Then the Melanesian race community began to immigrate from Asia to Oceania, specifically to the Papua region and the Australian continent, which at that time were still one continent.
Apart from migrating to Papua and Australia, the Melanesian population has also spread to several regions, such as Bismarck, Fiji, Solomon, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
Indonesia is a region visite by the Melanesian race, with up to 70 percent of the human population.
During its development, the Melanesoid race mixed with the Malay race in Indonesia.
The mixing of the Malay race with the Melanesoid race has resulted in Melanesoid-Malay descendants now widely spread in the NTT and Maluku regions. Region
Melanesian Distribution
After a lot of immigration, many Melanesian populations in Indonesia are on the Maluku Islands heading to Fiji Island.
Indonesia is one of the areas with the largest Melanesian race compare to other countries where this ethnicity is currently inhabite.
This race migrated from Asia to Oceania, to be precise, to the Papua region and the Australian continent, which at that time were still one continent.
Apart from Papua and Australia, Melanesoids also spread to several regions, such as Bismarck, Fiji, Solomon, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
In Indonesia alone, the distribution is highest compared to others.
It is estimate that 70 percent of the Melanesoid race occupy the West Papua region. The other 30 percent are find around Papua, for example, in Papua New Guinea.
This distribution process was also due to the migration of the Yunnan population to the archipelago in 2,000 BC.
During its development, the Melanesoid race mixed with the Malay race in Indonesia.
Features of the Melanesoid Race
Generally, the Melanesian racial group is characterize by dark skin. In addition, they have curly hair, a large and sturdy bone structure, and an athletic-looking body.
The lips are relatively thick, the posture is straight, the nose is wide, and the height is around 160 cm to 170 cm.
In addition, in terms of culture, the Melanesoid people often use hand-held axes and chopping axes in their daily activities.
Melanesoid Race Relics
The Melanesian population has several cultural heritages, for example, in livelihoods. Usually, the livelihood of people living in coastal areas is fishing.
They also have a stilt-shaped residence. Meanwhile, the Melanesoid race,
Which lives in rivers, swamps, lakes, and valleys. Generally, they have a livelihood of hunting and gathering forest products.
There are also everyday tools that are the legacy of the Melanesian population.
Tools such as hand axes, scraping axes, scraping axes, and flake tools made of stone or bone are oftenly brought.