Putussibau
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Putussibau is an Indonesian town in
Kapuas Hulu Regency Kapuas Hulu Regency is a regency in West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Located around Kapuas River, it has a total area of 29,842.03 square kilometres or around 20.26% of West Kalimantan province's area. The regency seat is located in town of ...
, West Kalimantan. It sits on the river Kapuas, with the main part of the town located on the right banks, or north, of the river. Officially an administrative village (''Kelurahan Putussibau Kota'') within North Putussibau District, the urban settlement sprawls outside of the primary boundaries to the opposite bank of the river. Official estimates from
Statistics Indonesia Statistics Indonesia ( id, Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS, ), is a non-departmental government institute of Indonesia that is responsible for conducting statistical surveys. Its main customer is the government, but statistical data is also availabl ...
places the population of the town proper at 12,459 in 2015. Formerly a remote village prior to its selection as a colonial outpost in 1895, the town grew into its present population acting as a market town far upstream on the Kapuas River. Today, it is the seat and economic center of the regency.


Etymology

The name ''Putussibau'' originated from the words ''putus'' (to break/split) and ''Sibau'', which is the name of a nearby tributary of the Kapuas which in turn derives its name from the a tree from the Nephelium genus. According to local folklore, a ''Sibau'' tree once fell and split the river and hence gave name to the town.


History

The area around the source of Kapuas were originally inhabited by the Taman Dayaks. Around the 7th to 8th centuries, an Indianized
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
kingdom was established by a Kutai noble at modern Selimbau. Initially a small state, the kingdom slowly grew to cover one-fifths of modern West Kalimantan (about 30,000 km2) by the late 19th century. Modern Putussibau was included in Selimbau's territories, and the area received an influx of Kayan Dayaks. In 1823, the authorities of
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
based in
Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
signed a treaty with Selimbau which recognized the latter's sovereignty over what is today
Kapuas Hulu Regency Kapuas Hulu Regency is a regency in West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Located around Kapuas River, it has a total area of 29,842.03 square kilometres or around 20.26% of West Kalimantan province's area. The regency seat is located in town of ...
. Later on, the colonial authorities began meddling in the kingdom's internal affairs and eventually seized power, with a formal annexation complete by 1925. During the period, at the late 19th century Putussibau was a remote village under threat by headhunters and visited by
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
and
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
merchants. In 1895, the colonial government chose the site as an outpost to both govern the region and to combat headhunting. Following the Japanese occupation and Indonesian independence, the town became part of West Kalimantan province. The
Kapuas Hulu Regency Kapuas Hulu Regency is a regency in West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Located around Kapuas River, it has a total area of 29,842.03 square kilometres or around 20.26% of West Kalimantan province's area. The regency seat is located in town of ...
was established in 1953, and Putussibau has been its capital since. A bridge spanning the Kapuas was built in 1993 connecting the roads on both banks of the river, allowing road access from Putussibau to other towns on the left bank of the river.


Geography

The town is located at the northeastern part of West Kalimantan, close to the Indonesia-Malaysia border. The regency it is part of covers nearly 30,000 square kilometers and is located far inland. With a distance of 400 km from the provincial capital of Pontianak, it is closer to the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n city of
Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
which is located 300 km away. The territory administered by the ''kelurahan'' measures 139.3 square km, excluding other villages that also form parts of the urban settlement but also covers much larger amounts of jungle and farmland. With its source nearby, Kapuas flows south of the town proper and splits the urban area into a northern and southern portion, which are connected by a bridge across the large river. The
confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
with the Sibau River is just upstream of Putussibau. The town is also seat of the regency and the district.


Climate

Putussibau has a tropical climate, and is classified Af according to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. The average annual rainfall is 4231 mm.


Demographics

The administrative village of Putussibau proper (''Kelurahan Putussibau Kota'') is inhabited by 12,459 residents within 3,555 households in 2015 according to
Statistics Indonesia Statistics Indonesia ( id, Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS, ), is a non-departmental government institute of Indonesia that is responsible for conducting statistical surveys. Its main customer is the government, but statistical data is also availabl ...
. The
sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...
of the ''kelurahan'' is 111, with a population density of 89.44 per square km. However, urban sprawl spreads to other areas on both sides of the Kapuas, in total forming part of 6 villages within the North and South Putussibau districts with a population sum of about 29,000. The majority of the population are
Muslims 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 Abraha ...
, but there are
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
(both
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
) and
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
minorities.


Economy and facilities

Putussibau is a market town serving the sparsely-populated region, with the North Putussibau District alone covering 5,204.8 square kilometres yet only inhabited by slightly over 26,500 people in 2020 (of which over 12,000 live in Putussibau Town proper, with around another 6,000 in the urban sprawl). The South Putussibau District covers another 5,352.33 square kilometres and had just over 23,100 inhabitants in 2020 (the majority of the area formerly comprised the separate Hulu Kapuas District, which has since been merged into South Putussibau District). It is also the last market town in the flow of the Kapuas, with no other major settlements further upstream. Due to its proximity with the Danau Sentarum and Betung Kerihun
national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
, it is also a local center of
ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
. Most public facilities in the district, including schools and a hospital, are located in the town proper. ''STIT Iqra Putussibau'', an Islamic
educational science Education sciences or education theory (traditionally often called ''pedagogy'') seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education policy and practice. Education sciences include many topics, such as pedagogy, andragogy, curriculum, learning, ...
institute, operates in the town. The town is served by the nearby
Pangsuma Airport Pangsuma Airport is an airport in Putussibau, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The distance between the Airport and Putussibau is 3.7 km via Jl. Lintas Kalimantan Poros Utara. Putussibau is the capital of Kapuas Hulu within approximately 400  ...
, which is located outside the official boundaries of the town although it is only about 3.7 km away. Throughout 2016, the airport accommodates over 73,000 passengers.


References

{{Reflist West Kalimantan Populated places in West Kalimantan Populated places established in 1895 Regency seats of West Kalimantan 1895 establishments in the Dutch East Indies