Biak
 Fishing boats lined up at Kota Biak, Indonesia. |
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| Geography | |
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| Location | South East Asia |
| Coordinates | 1°0′0″S 136°0′0″E / 1.00000°S 136.00000°E |
| Country | |
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Indonesia
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| Largest city | Kota Biak |
_Topography.png)
Biak is a small island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals.
The largest population centre is at Kota Biak (Biak City) on the south coast. The rest of the island is thinly populated with small villages.
Biak is part of the Biak Islands (Kepulauan Biak).
Contents |
History [edit]
In World War II, a strategic airfield of the Imperial Japanese Army was located there, serving as a base for operations in the Pacific theatre. American forces eventually captured the island during the Battle of Biak. On May 29, 1944, the first tank vs. tank battle in the Pacific Theatre occurred. The captured airfield was renamed Mokmer Airfield and later transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force.
It was transferred from Dutch rule, along with half of New Guinea, in the 1960s.
Biak Massacre [edit]
On July 1, 1998 (the anniversary of the unsuccessful 1971 Papuan declaration of independence) Biak was the scene of what is commonly known as the 'Biak Massacre' or 'Bloody Biak'. Native Papuan people and members of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Movement), raised their traditional flag, 'The Morning Star', at Kota Biak water tower and camped there for the next six days.[1]
At 5:30am on July 6, 1998 the demonstration was fired upon by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI or Indonesian Military). Many were cut down by the gunfire while attempting to flee. Survivors were rounded up and forced to the docks where they were kept for the several days while further demonstrators were caught.
About 200 of the original demonstrators were forcibly loaded onto two Indonesian naval vessels and taken to two different locations to be thrown into the ocean. In the following days, bodies washed up on Biak's shores, or were snarled in fishing nets. The TNI explained that the bodies turning up belonged to victims of the Aitape tsunami which occurred approximately 1000 km away in Papua New Guinea.[2]
Demographics [edit]
The people of Biak are predominantly Melanesians and the main religion is Christianity. The official language is Indonesian and the main local language is Biak. Other languages such as Dutch and English are also used, but limited.
Climate [edit]
| Biak, Indonesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak. The city sees a good amount of precipitation in every month throughout the course of the year, averaging roughly 2850 mm of precipitation per year. It's driest months, October and November, average a little under 200 mm of rain per month.
| Climate data for Biak, Indonesia | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
25 (77) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 250 (9.84) |
240 (9.45) |
250 (9.84) |
200 (7.87) |
250 (9.84) |
230 (9.06) |
250 (9.84) |
240 (9.45) |
220 (8.66) |
180 (7.09) |
190 (7.48) |
230 (9.06) |
2,840 (111.81) |
| Source: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=6579&refer=&units=metric | |||||||||||||
Transport [edit]
Biak is serviced by Frans Kaisiepo Airport, which has flights from all over Indonesia.
Space satellite launch services have been planned for the new Biak Spaceport. The equatorial location offers particularly efficient launches to equatorial and near-equatorial orbits; facing eastward toward the Pacific ocean reduces the downrange risks of launch.[3]
Tradition [edit]
The Biak Numfor culture revolves around their ancient animist religion, although today they are Christian as well.
Their beliefs revolve around a ritual ceremony called Wor, where they will be plagued by all kinds of bad luck and sickness. The Wor is in all aspect of their life and some of their traditional ceremonies are still being held now. They include the first hair cut ceremony (Wor Kapapnik), the growing up ceremony (Wor Famarmar) and the Wedding ceremony (Wor Yakyaker Farbakbuk). All of these ceremonies are accompanied by singing, dancing and offering to ancestral spirits.
Yosim Pancar Dance [edit]
The Biak Numfor have a friendship dance called "Yosim Pancar". It's small to mid-size dance group formations which could last all-night long. Several "Yosim Pancar" moves that are popular till this day are: Pancar Gas, Gale-Gale, Jef, Pacul Tiga, Seka, and Poco-poco adaptation.[citation needed]
The rhythm and song of Yosim Pancar dance are now being modernized with special effect sounds and pop dance beat. Originally the rhythm is to summon ancestal spirits and let them join the group. The traditional musical instrument of this dance is a selfmade stringbass from coconut tree and roots which is similar to the guitar or ukulele.[citation needed]
Flora and fauna [edit]
The rain forest-covered Biak Islands have been designated the Biak-Numfoor rain forests, especially as they have the largest number of endemic bird species of any single area in the New Guinea region.
There are numerous types of flora in the tropical rain forest of the island, including a variety of trees and other commercially important species plus the lush vegetation of mangrove swamps.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Kilvert, Andrew (1998-10-11). "Behind The Biak Massacre". Asia Pacific Network. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ Barclay, Paul (1 August 2008). "The Biak Massacre". RadioNational: Perspective. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
- ^ John J. Klein. Space warfare: strategy, principles, and policy. McGraw Hill Professional, 2006. ISBN 0-415-77001-7.196 pages. PP 85. Google reference: [1]
