Isyaman is an inland village in

Mappi Regency Mappi Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of South Papua. It was split off from Merauke Regency (of which it had been a component part) on 12 November 2002. It covers an area of 25,609.94 km2, and had a population of 81, ...

South Papua South Papua, officially the South Papua Province ( id, Provinsi Papua Selatan), is an Indonesian province located in the southern portion of Papua, following the borders of Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally established on 11 November 2 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

History

At the time of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

arrival, the Mappi region was inhabited by various tribes speaking

Trans–New Guinea languages Trans–New Guinea (TNG) is an extensive family of Papuan languages spoken on the island of New Guinea and neighboring islands ‒ corresponding to the country Papua New Guinea as well as parts of Indonesia. Trans–New Guinea is the third-la ...

, such as the Awyu, the Yaqay, or the Kayagar. The inhabitant of the area were mostly left alone by the outside world until the first half of the 20th century, when the

started taking an interest in the region. In 1936, a military post known as Mappi Post, was set up on a hill named Tamao at the confluence of the Digoel and

Kawarga River Dmitry Kawarga (russian: Дмитрий Викторович Каварга) born in Moscow, Russia is a Russian artist. Kawarga began working in his own style of "biomorphism" striving to create a synthesis of science, art and technology. His a ...

near where the village stands today, in order to prevent

Headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in hi ...

raids which were creating unrest and migrations, and assert Dutch control over the area.Boelaars, Jan H. M. C. (1981). pp.4–5. Following the Japanese invasion of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

in 1942, and the subsequent low-level bombing of the post by Japanese aircraft, the Dutch fled into the nearby jungle, leaving the post only occupied by a

coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

. In June 1944, the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

moved in, installing a radar station which had been previously operating in Bupul, and renamed it Post 5, under the command of an infantry sergeant. The goal was to spot

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese airplanes coming from the

Aru islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...

or the

Vogelkop The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...

to attack

Merauke Merauke is a large town and the capital of the South Papua province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency in South Papua. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. It ...

. However, as the Japanese airfields were rendered inoperable by allied aerial bombardments, the radar station was removed and the

departed in January 1945.Arnold, Anthony Peter (2013), p. 328. After the war,

Kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

replaced Mappi as the administrative center of the region. The post remained in use as a Dutch military outpost into the 1950s, after which it was abandoned when

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

was transferred to

in 1963.

Climate

Isyaman has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * {{refend Villages in South Papua