Fayu people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (1,470) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Papua province, Indonesia | |
| Languages | |
| Fayu language | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (65%), other ethnic religion (35%)[1] |
The Fayu are an ethnic group that live in an area of swampland in Papua, Indonesia. When first contacted by westerners they numbered about 400; a number reduced from about 2000 due to violence within the group. The Fayu generally live in single family groups with gatherings of several such groups once or twice a year to exchange brides. Two books have been written about living among them. The first is by Sabine Kuegler[2] who spent most of her childhood growing up with them. The second is Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies[3] where the group is used as an example of a band type society. The Fayu are often described in books written about them as Stone Age people, cannibalistic, brutal fighters, backward, and as a people who can only count up to three.[4] Today, the Fayu people number up to 1,470; the majority of them are Christians.[1]
References
External links
- Sabine Kuegler account of her time with the Fayu.
- 2007 Kuegler, Sabine Child of the Jungle: The True Story of a Girl Caught Between Two Worlds ISBN 1-84408-261-X
| Sumatra | |
|---|---|
| Java | |
| Kalimantan | |
| Sulawesi | |
| Papua | |
| Lesser Sunda Islands | |
| Maluku Islands | |
| Non-indigenous | |
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