Fakfak () is a town in West Papua and seat of the

Fakfak Regency Fakfak Regency - formerly spelt "Fak-Fak" - is a regency of West Papua province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 14,320 km2, and had a population of 66,828 at the 2010 Census and 87,894 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is the t ...

. It had a population of 12,566 at the 2010 Census, which rose to 18,900 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. It is served by

Fakfak Airport Fakfak Torea Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Torea Fakfak) , also known as Fak Fak Airport, is an airport serving Fakfak, located in the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. ...

. It is the only town in West Papua with a significant

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Arab Indonesian Arab Indonesians ( ar, عربٌ إندونيسيون) or ''Hadharem'' (; sing., ''Hadhrami'', ), informally known as Jama'ah, and until the 20th century known as Codjas or Kodjas, note the work was also published in the Hague and Utrecht simulta ...

presence.

History

The former name of the settlement was ''Kapaur'' and it is still in use by biologists. Historically Fakfak was a significant port town, being one of the few Papuan towns that had relations with the

Sultanate of Ternate The Sultanate of Ternate (Jawi alphabet: كسلطانن ترنتاي), previously also known as the Kingdom of Gapi is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia besides Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. The Ternate kingdom was established by ...

, being bound to it. The Sultanate later granted the Dutch colonial government permission to settle in Papua, including in Fakfak. The Dutch began settlement in 1898. The town still has some colonial buildings remaining from this settlement. The Japanese 1st Detachment landed in Fakfak on April 1, 1942. The small

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger; KNIL, ) was the military force maintained by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its colony of the Dutch East Indies, in areas that are now part of Indonesia. The ...

garrison surrendered without a fight and later a small garrison of 67 men of the 24th Special Base Unit occupied the area and used it as a seaplane base. Between April 1943 and October 1944, the town was attacked several times by allied bombers. Japanese forces occupied the town until the end of the war in September 1945. Fakfak is now an isolated town, not often used for the import and export of goods.

Geography

Fakfak is located in West Papua, Indonesia, on the

Bomberai Peninsula Bomberai Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Bomberai), otherwise known as the Bird's Beak Peninsula ( id, Semenanjung Paruh Burung), is located in the Western New Guinea region, opposite to and to the south of the Bird's Head Peninsula. To the west lies ...

at the foothills of the

Fakfak Mountains Fakfak Mountains ( id, Pegunungan Fakfak) are located on Bomberai Peninsula to the north of Fakfak in West Papua province, Indonesia. Geography Topography includes the following top elevations in Fakfak Mountains: *''Baham'' at 613 m (coordin ...

, near Tambaruni Bay. It is situated in an area with many

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

hills, rivers and caves. As such, the streets twist and turn.

Demographics

Fakfak has a small community of Muslim, Arab and Indian Indonesians, descended from traders who came to Papua in the 19th century; this minority population has decreased recently due to Fakfak's diminishing role as a port town. It is the only place in West Papua with such a community.

Cultural identity

There is a popular local philosophy called “Satu tungku tiga batu” which means a stove/cauldron with three stones/legs. The ethnic groups of the area called Mbaham Matta Wuh used to cook with three stones so that stove/cauldron will be stable on top of them. The stove is to symbolises live, while the three stones symbolizes You, Me, and They. Another saying to reflect this is “Ko, on, kno mi mbi du Qpona” which means you, me, and they are related. This form a basis for tolerance in the area as Fakfak is a majority Muslim area while also having a sizable Christian minority. Whatever the religion the people are still family. There is a monument symbolizing this philosophy located in the center of Fakfak to commemorate its multiculturalism and tolerance. Due to historically being under the control of

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the we ...

but being located in Papua, Fakfak is torn between being pro-Indonesian or supporting the

Free Papua Movement "Free Papua Movement" ( id, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM, tpi, Fri Wes Papua Grup) is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papuan or West New Guinea territory which is currently being administrat ...

Tourism

Fakfak has of white sand beaches, located approximately half an hour from the town. Nearby there are also

rock paintings In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...

. It is served by the

References

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book , title=Indonesia, last=Ver Berkmoes, first=Ryan, year=2010 , publisher=Lonely Planet, location=Footscray, Victoria, isbn=978-1-932728-26-2 , oclc=61748548, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GMBFsaFNN4C&q=Fakfak+papua+-wikipedia&pg=PA785, access-date=13 July 2011 Populated places in West Papua Regency seats of West Papua (province)