Melanesoid Race: History, Distribution, Culture, Heritage

Melanesoid race is one of the many races that inhabit the country of Indonesia.

In this one race you can mostly find it in the eastern part of Indonesia, with the characteristic of having a slightly dark or black skin color.

This trait is also the same as the origin of the name Melanesoid Race which leads to a similar appearance.

Melanesoid race itself comes from two Greek syllables, namely "melano” with means black or dark. Then there is the word “soid” which means appearance.

In this race, there is a Negroid sub race which generally has three major races, namely Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid.

For more on the melanesoid race, see the review below.

Distribution History

Melanesoid race has come to Indonesia around 70,000 BC. Where is currently the end of the ice age.

At that time, the temperature in Indonesia fell to the coldest point, causing all sea waters to freeze.

This one race then migrated from Asia to Oceania, more precisely to the Papua region and the Australian continent, where at that time it was still one land.

Not only to various areas in Papua and also Australia, the Melanesoid people also spread to several regions, such as Fiji, Bismarck, Vanuatu, Solomon, and Papua New Guinea.

In Indonesia itself, the distribution of this race is the highest compared to other regions. It is estimated that there are already 70 percent of the Melanesoid race inhabiting the Papua region.

There is also another 30 percent found in the Papua region, for example in Papua New Guinea.

The process of spreading this one is also due to the migration carried out by the Yunnan population to the archipelago in 2,000 BC.

In its development, the Melanesoid race mixed with the Malay race in Indonesia.

The mixing of the Malay race with the Melanesoid race created Melanesoid-Malay descendants who are now widely spread in the NTT and Maluku regions.

The Origin of the Melanosoid Race

Melanesoid race is one of the many cultural diversity that exists in Indonesia.

As previously mentioned, the Melanesoid race is one of the sub-races that originated from the Negroid Race.

Negroid itself is a type of race that has black physical characteristics. The groups of nations that fall into the Negroid race include:

• Melanisia, covers Papua and Melanisia.
• African Negroid, covers an area on the African continent.
• Negrito, covers the area of ​​Central Africa, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines.

However, in general, there are actually three Major Races besides Negroids that influence the existence of the Melanosoid Race, namely the Caucasoid Race and the Mongoloid Race.

The Caucasoid race itself is a race with the characteristic of having white skin.

The groups of nations that fall into the classification of the Caucasoid race include:

• Nordic, covers the area of ​​Northern Europe, precisely in the vicinity of the Baltic Sea.
• Mediterranean, covers the area in the Mediterranean area, America, North America, Armenia, Arabia, and Iran.
• Alpine, covers areas in Central Europe and Eastern Europe.

The Mongoloid race is one type of race that has inherent characteristics with yellow skin.

The ethnic groups that belong to the Mongoloid race include:

• American Mongoloid, including the Eskimos in North America, to the Terra del Frugo people across South America.
• Malayan Mongoloid, covering areas of Southeast Asia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and also the Indonesian Archipelago.
• Asiatic Mongoloid, covering Central Asia, North Asia, and East Asia.

Melanesoid Race Traits

In identifying humans as belonging to the Melanesoid race category, there are several characteristics that can be recognized, including:

• His skin has a dark color.
• Her hair is curly and dark in color.
• His lips are relatively thicker.
• His posture is very straight.
• His height is about 160 cm to 170 cm.
• The shape of the nose is wider and also pug.
• The main occupations are gathering forest products, hunting, gardening, and raising livestock.
• Has a tendency to live in areas that have swamps, rivers, valleys, lakes, and beaches.
• Having an emaida traditional party or commonly referred to as a matchmaking party.

Not only that, in terms of culture, Melanesoid people also often use hand axes and pickaxes in their daily activities.

Its benefits are as a cutting and hunting tool.

Melanosoid Race Culture

The following are some of the cultures of the Melanesoid race that you need to know, including:

1. The majority of the livelihood of the Melanesoid Race is hunting and gathering products from the forest.

2. Melanesoid race is one of the population groups that have a tendency to live in coastal areas and islands.

3. Having a traditional party called yibu.

The party is used to strengthen family ties. The celebrations of the yibu tradition include birthdays, child births, weddings, and people who have died.

In general, the yibu traditional party of the Melanesoid Race is held at home or in an existing traditional house.

4. The Melanesoid race has a habit of celebrating the traditional emaida party or also known as the party to find a mate.

The traditional party of this race can be held at any time, depending on which village invites the youth for matchmaking.

5. This one race has a very unique habit of showing off wealth, its name is the yuwo traditional party.

This traditional party will generally be held by cutting pork / ekina as a meal.

Don't forget to read too Mesolithic Age to know the historical development of ancient times.

Melanesoid Race Legacy

Melanesoid people have several cultural heritages, one example is in terms of livelihood.

In general, the livelihood of people living in coastal areas is fishing. They also have a place to live in the form of a stage.

While the Melanesoid race lives in swamps, rivers, lakes, and valleys, they usually have a livelihood by hunting and gathering forest products.

And for those who live in highland areas, in general they have a livelihood as breeders and cultivate gardens.

There are also daily tools that have become relics of this one race, namely perimbas axes, hand axes, penetak axes, and flake tools originally from stone and bone.