Kiwai Island is the largest island in the

Fly River The Fly River is the third longest river on the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik and Mamberamo, with a total length of . It is the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, an ...

delta,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. It is one of the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their tot ...

. It is long along the northwest–southeast axis from Wamimuba Point in the northwest to the village of Saguane (Sanguane) in the south, and up to wide, with an average width of . Its area is . Neighboring Purutu and Wabuda Islands to the north and northeast are also among the three largest islands in the Fly River delta. A language study mentioned a population of about 4,500, but the census of population of 2000 showed only 2,092 inhabitants. The island separates the north and south entrances of the Fly River. It is well wooded and only a few feet above water. The chief village, Iasa, is located on the south side of the island. Sumai village is on the same side of the island and farther northwest. Doropo village is about midway along the north side of the island. At the east end of the island are other small villages, such as Sagasia, Ipisia, Agobara and Oromosapuo. The inhabitants of the Fly River delta engage in agriculture and hunting.

Coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

, plantain,

sago palm Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as sago. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family Arecaceae The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowerin ...

, and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

are grown. Administratively, the island is part of Kiwai Rural LLG (Local Level Government area) of South Fly District, Western Province.

History

Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...

have recovered some of the largest stone axes ever discovered and

ethnographers Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

believe that these axe heads were used as ceremonial grave markers.

Anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

s believe that most of these stone axes were imported from the

. Owing to this belief is the lack of suitable tool stone in the region. An examination of twenty of these axes revealed that eighteen of them were composed of intrusive igneous rocks similar to the type found on the Torres Strait Islands. Ethnologists and archeologists both believe that the Kiwai Islanders and the

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

had a

symbiotic relationship Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

involving the exchange of stone axes for large seafaring canoes.

References

Fly River Islands of Papua New Guinea Western Province (Papua New Guinea) {{PapuaNewGuinea-island-stub

History

See also

References