Papua
Nederlands
Nieuw Guinea
Irian
Jaya
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In
1527 the Portuguese Jorge de Menezes was the first European to set foot on
New Guinean soil. He named the island Ilhas dos Papuas or the Island of the
crisp-haired. In 1545 the island was renamed by the spanish captain Ynigo
Ortiz de Retes, who noticed the resemblance of the coast with the African
Westcoast, in Nueva Guinea. The
Dutch sailed to the island in 1606 on an expedition of Willem Janszoon who
afterwards sailed also to Australia. In 1678 the Dutch flag was hoisted for
the first time and later the island was for a lomg time a posession of the
V.O.C.. When
in the 19th century the British installed themselves in the eastern part of
New Guinea the Dutch decided to take the western part in 1829. The border
between the two parts was fixed in 1875 at 141° E.L.. In
1884 the northern half of the eastern part became a German possession and the
southern half a British possession. In 1906 British New Guinea was
transferred to Australia and renamed Papua Territory. In WW I Australia
occupied the northern (German) Kaiser Wilhelmsland. From that time this part
was called New Guinea. In 1945 the Australian part was united with the former
German territory and called Papua and New Guinea Territory. In 1975 this
Territory became independent Papua-New-Guinea In the Ronde Tafel Conferentie (Round Table Conference) of 1949
the Dutch did not transfer its sovereignty over New Guinea to Indonesia,
appealing to the right of self-determination of the Papua’s and promised
their independence. The Dutch Government for this purpose trained an
administrative body and installed a New Guinea Council in April 1961. This
council consisted for the main part
(23 of the 28 members) of Papua’s and hoisted the “Morning Star” (the
national flag) together with the flag of the Netherlands on 1 December 1961
in Hollandia. That date was intended to be the first step on the way to
independence. In the Treaty of New York, concluded under U.S. pressure between
Indonesia and the Netherlands on 15 August 1962, it was agreed that there
would be a U.N. Interim Government from 1 October 1962 until the transfer of
New Guinea to Indonesia on 1 May 1963. The transfer had to be followed by a
referendum of the Papua’s. Indeed, this referendum was held under the
supervision of the U.N. but was restricted to 1025 selected notables (of the
80,000 inhabitants), who, isolated and put under severe pressure, unanimously
voted for annexation by Indonesia. Dutch New Guinea was renamed West Papua. In Indonesian Bahasa it
was called Irian Barat (irian = arab for ‘naked’; barat =
‘west’. On 3 March 1973 it was renamed again into “Irian Jaya”(Victorious
Irian). This was followed by another renaming when President Abdurrahman Wahid, during a short
visit to Jayapura on 31 December 1999 ordained that the province henceforth
was called “Papua”. On 22/23 October 2001 Papua
received autonomy within Indonesia from the Indonesian Parliament. The
revenues of the province would be divided on a 70-30% ratio for the minerals
and on a 80-20% ratio for the other revenues between the Papua’s and
Indonesia. According to the agreement the province could adopt its own flag
and hymn. This provision was not carried out. On the contrary, President Megawati proposed in 2003 to divide the
province in three parts and that its name would be changed into Irian again. After
strong resistance of the population only the western part with the name of
Irian Jaya Barat and its capital Manokwari was separated from Papua Province.
In 2005 it was proposed to split up the province into five parts. |
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New Guinea is a very interesting
region for ethnoheraldry because until a relatively short time past
wars were fought in an archaïc way. The symbolical dressing up of warring on New Guinea could
probably give us an idea of the way how wars were fought in prehistoric times
and as such sould be a journey in the past. The shields used by the local
population for war and for all kinds of rituals and dancing feasts are
characteristic for the different regions. Their manufacturing is surrounded
by extensive rituals to augment the effectivity of the shield. Many of these
shields are in the collections of the
colonizers often by way of anthropologists who choose the New Guinea peoples
as their subject of research and have collected a treasure of information of
their manners and customs. Some hundreds of shields turned up in the
collections of the Museum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden and in the Koninklijk
Instituut voor de Tropen in Amsterdam. From Kaiser Wilhelmsland there will be
a collection in the Museum für Volkenkunde in Berlin. Some are depicted by
Alain-Michel Boyer after his impressive introduction to ethnoheraldry in his
book “Shields”. [1] The shield here depicted is from
the Asmat of South-West New Guinea. It shows red lines on a white background
characteristic for the Asmat-shields. On other shield of this people the
pattern is more refined and is more a kind of network spread over the shield. When these shields are often quite
large, even up to a man’s length, the shields of other peoples are smaller.
In the west they are of a shape common on the islands west of New Guinea. |
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Following a long tradition the
annexation of the territory was effectuated in the 19th century by erecting a
pole with an armoured table: [2] “In 1848 the Government of the
Netherlands Indies declared that West New Guinea was a part of the
Netherlands Indies. Only fifty years later administrative- and police posts
were established. Until that time “the Dutch authority on New Guinea was
represented by tables erected on great distances from each other on which the
Dutch achievement appeared” [3] Such a table is preserved and
exhibited in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam.
Frontier Post This sign was suspended from a palmtree in a village on the northern
coast of Dutch New Guinea. (Painted iron, 19th century. Coll. Tropenmuseum Amsterdam) Like elsewhere in the Dutch
colonies, in Dutch New Guinea the Dutch Achievement in its different versions was valid. In 1942 New Guinea was occupied by
Japan and governed by the Japanese Navy. It was liberated in the New Guinea Campaign which lasted until the
capitulation of Japan in 1945.
Stamp of the Japanese Navy showing its anchor-emblem Only at the end of Dutch presence
on New Guinea heraldic emblems referring to the region only, were introduced.
The first of such emblems were the coats of arms of military units stationed
on New Guinea.
After WWII Dutch rule was
restored with the help of the
Territorial Command New Guinea stationed in East-Indonesia which comprised
Celebes, the Moluccas and the Smaller
Sunda Islands. On 15 May 1947 the Territorial and Army Command New Guinea was
separated from this command. The arms of the Territorial and
Army Command were: Arms: Or, a palmtree on a
grassy ground proper, and a bordure Gules. |
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Between 1949-1962 the flag of the
Governors of Dutch New Guinea was the one of the former Governor General of
the Netherlands East Indies being red-white and blue, and three white balls
in the first:
Governor’s Flag After the delegation of
sovereignty in 1949, Dutch military units were stationed in the remains of
the Dutch Colonial Empire. These had a coat of arms: Per pale Sable and
Orange, a spear and a sword in saltire Argent and charged with the outlines
of an orb Gules. This coat of arms was adopted by
Army Command no. 208 of 1950 and abolished by army command 60020 of 1960. |
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1950-1960. |
Papoea Vrijwiligerskorps,
1959. |
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Coats of arms of Dutch
New-Guinea armed forces. One year before, in 1959, a Papua
Volunteer Corps was established. For this Corps the military artist Frans
Smits designed a cap badge consisting of a Casuar (Casuarius papuanus -
Casuariiformes) within an oval strap with the motto PERSEVERO (I
Persevere) between two branches of laurel and two knives in saltire below. On
the banner of the Corps was Quartely in saltire Gules an Sable, the emblem
and the legend “PAPOEA VRIJWILLIGERSKORPS 1961”. [4] To resist increasing Indonesian menace and
infiltrations of the Indonesian Army the Troepen op Nieuw Guinea were
replaced by the Dutch New Guinea Army (Landmacht in
Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea) in 1960. By Army Command no. 95 a coat of arms for the
Dutch New Guinea Army was adopted. It showed: Azure, the map of New Guinea
Vert, over all the constellation of the Southern Cross consisting of five
six-pointed stars Argent; the base barry Gules, Argent and Azure, being the
national flag of the Netherlands. When the detachment was abolished in 1961 the
arms were declared expired by Ministerial Decision of 13 September 1961. [5] In 1960 the Dutch armed forces stationed in
Dutch New Guinea found the Indonesian Kompassus as their adversary in
the socalled Trikora Operation. |
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Kopassus Cap Badge |
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Kopassus,
abbreviation for Komando Pasukan Khusus (Army Special Force Command)
is an Indonesian Army Special Forces group that conducts special operations
missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional
warfare, sabotage, counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering. Kopassus was
founded on April 16, 1952. |
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Anticipating the independence of
the region a flag, a coat of arms and a hymn were adopted in 1961. [6] The “Morgenster” (Morning Star) as the flag of New Guinea is called, is barry of 13 pieces blue and white and has a red mast-end charged with a white five-pointed star. It was adopted by decree of the Governor of Dutch New-Guinea of 18 November 1961 No. 362 and published in the Gouvernementsblad van Nieuw-Guinea 1961 N° 68 dd. 20. XI. 1961. The decree reads:
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Drawing of the achievement of West Papua by Justinus Ofide The first achievement of New
Guinea was apparently
also adopted in 1961. It was: Arms: Paly of thirteen pieces Azure and Argent, a
chief Gules charged with a five-pointed star Argent. Supporters: Two Small Birds of Paradise (Paradisea minor - Paradisaeidae)
proper. Motto: SETIA DJUDJUR MESRA (Loyal, Honest, Affectionate) on
black lettering on a scroll Azure. Garland: Two orchids proper. |
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Birds of Paradise |
The Hague, 1965 |
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This achievement was shown in an
anti-indonesian demonstration in The Hague, 1965. It is not known who the
designer of the achievement was. No document with an official description
could be found. [7] Recently the achievement can be
found on several websites. |
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1962.10.01 - 1963.05.01 |
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U.N. Emblem |
UNTEA New Guinea Mission Medal |
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1963.05.01 - present |
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After the transfer of West Papua
by the U.N. Temporary Executive Authority on 1 May 1963 all national symbols
of West Papua were forbidden. When Indonesia had taken over, the region
came under direct presidential rule, the president of Indonesia taking the
place of the Queen of the Netherlands. In 1963 coins were issued for use in
the region, showing the bust of Sukarno on the obverse and his presidential
arms, being the arms of Indonesia between an ear of rice and a branch of
cotton, on the reverse
Coin
for use in Irian Barat, 1963 |
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A newer achievement of West Papua
was probably adopted when in 1971 it was tried in vain to establish a
Republic of West Papua. This second Republican achievement
is:
Arms: Paly of thirteen pieces Azure and Argent, a chief Gules charged with a
five-pointed star Argent. Supporter:
A Western Crowned
Pigeon (Goura cristata – Columbæ [8]) in its dexter claw a drum and in
its sinister claw a bundle of arrows. Motto: ONE
PEOPLE ONE SOUL on an arch in chief Title: WEST-PAPUA on a ribbon in base |
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The achievement is inspired by the
frontispiece of a pamphlet entitled „De Papoea’s roepen Nederland” (the
Papua’s call for the Netherlands) published in 1951. This shows a shield
tierced per bend sinister, red white and blue, charged with the outlines of
the map of Dutch New Guinea on the breast of a crowned pigeon. “De Kroonduif” (the Crowned
Pigeon) was also an airline company on Dutch New Guinea. Its emblem showed a
blue crowned pigeon on a white dic charged with two red concentric rings. |
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The West Papua Courier
writes about the Morning star and the achievement: The colours of the flag, according
to Nicolaas Jouwe in his explanation (1986), are borrowed from the Dutch
National flag as an expression of gratitude to the Netherlands for its
protection of the people of Papua in difficult times. The red colour
symbolizes the courage and pride shown by the people of Papua in difficult
times to defend the country against strange domination. The blue colour
symbolizes fidelity to the fatherland, to principles and the highest ideals
of the country. The white colour symbolizes peace, keeping the peace with the
neighbours and the world. The six white breadths symbolize the six districts
of the country. The seven blue breadths symbolize the different peoples of
West-Papua, making together the people of Papua. Also seven is a sacred
number in the Bible (amongst others Revelations 15:7 and 16:1 and Matthew
18:22). The star in the red breadth is the Morning star, the star of hope,
the hope for a good day, a good future. The design for the national arms
shows a standing crowned pigeon (mambroek) with wings expanded. On the
breast appears a shield charged with the Papua national flag and it has a tifa
(drum) in his right and seven arrows in his left claw. In the claws there is
also a ribbon with the motto “Banjak dalam satu”: “Eenheid in
verscheidenheid”, “One people, one soul”.” |
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The emblem of Irian Jaya Province
is: Arms: Or, three piles on a socle Argent,
surrounded by a garland of rice and cotton tied with a ribbon Gules and
Argent; and a chief Azure, three mountains Vert, their tops Argent below the
name of the province IRIAN JAYA Or. The arms were probably adopted
when Irian Barat / West Papua was renamed Irian Jaya on 3 March 1973. [9] The shield has five corners or
points, symbolizing the Pancasila, the five principles of the
Indonesian state. The main charge is the monument to
commemorate the Trikora Campaign of 1960, the three black-and-white
piles symbolizing the fight in the mountains and the six and nine stones the
year 1969. They also symbolize the socalled Perpera or referendum of
1969 and the rapid development of the region. The monument is surrounded by a
garland of rice and cotton, tied with a red and white ribbon, symbolizing,
like in many other Indoensian provincial arms the date of the establishment
of the Republic of Indoensia on 17 August 1945 (17.08.’45) The three mountains in the chief depict the
Pegunungan Maoke (former Centraal Gebergte) with the Pik Jaya (5030 m.), the
Gunung Daam (4922 m.) and the Pik Mandala (4700 m.) and are also for the
province as a whole. Gold symbolizes the
comprehension of earth and nature; blue symbolizes the waters within and
around Irian Jaya; green symbolizes the fertilty of the country; yellow the
faith that the struggle has ended; black the stability of the country in the
future. [10] After the renaming of Irian Jaya
in “Papua” in 2000 the name on the shield was changed
accordingly and the motto „KARYA SWABAYA”
(Creation by Own Force) on a golden ribbon with black edges was added. ð See illustration in the head of
this essay. For the eastern part of the
island: Papua New Guinea |
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ARMED FORCES |
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The Tri Komando Rakyat (Third Peoples’ Army, TRIKORA) was founded
in Yogyakarta by president Sukarno on 9 December 1961 for operations against
the Dutch in New Guinea. In 1962 the command was renamed Komando Daerah
Militer (Kodam) XVII Irian Barat and after the transfer of New Guinea to the
Republic in 1963 into Kodam XVII
Cenderawasih. In 1985 Kodam XVII Cenderawasih was united with Kodam XV
Pattimura to make Kodam VIII Trikora but in 1999 Kodam XVII Trikora was split
off from this command. In 2007 it was renamed Kodam XVII Cenderawasih. It oversees West-Papua and Papua
provinces. |
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Arms of Kodam VIII Trikora |
Arms of Kodam XVII Cenderawasih at the entrance of the HQ. |
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Banner of Kodam XVII Cenderawasih Green velvet, 60 Í 90 cm. Fringes 7 cm. The banner shows the paradise bird
of the arms, surrounded by a garland of rice and cotton and crested of a
five-pointed star. The motto KSATRIA PELINDUNG RAKYAT means: The Warrior is the
Protector of the People.[11] |
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West Papua was created from the western portion of Papua province in
February 2003, initially under the name of Irian Jaya Barat; it was
renamed Papua Barat (West Papua) on 7 February 2007. The emblem is: Arms: Azure, per fess, the chief per pale: 1. a derrick; 2. a tree and a fish
proper; 3. two leaves Vert. In chief a five-pointes star Argent. Over all a
disc Vert charged with the bust of a casuar proper. Motto: CINTAKUNEGERIKU (My Love My Country). Title: IRIAN JAYA BARAT in black lettering on a yellow cartouche above the shield. When the province was renamed Papua
Barat, the name in the cartouche was changed accordingly. |
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©
H.d.V. 2006.06.28 Updated 2008-10-20; 2011-02-16; 2011-10-20; 2011-12-07
Heraldry of the World