VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Tapurarang site, which is located on the shores of the Kokas, Fakfak Regency, West Papua, is the object of paintings of palms and feet, eyes, dolphins, lizards, plants, leaves, human faces, and boomerangs. This site seems to tell about past events that were painted through several red hands and footprints on the cave walls.

The painting looks ordinary, but it is enough to describe humans and their daily lives. The painting technique was also unique because the objects were made like sprayed using red and yellow ink. Splotches of paint were on the edges of each object. The painting material was confirmed to come from natural dyes. Even so, the color is still preserved to this day.

The Kokas people consider this site a sacred place because in this place, there are human skeletons that are believed to belong to the ancestors of the Kokas people. In ancient times, the people here had a habit of placing the bodies of their deceased ancestors on cliffs, niches, headlands, big trees and caves which they considered sacred.

The uniqueness of this place is the presence of a lush mangrove forest and clear water flowing through the large shady trees around it. Here too, you can find hundreds of bird species, such as cranes, cockatoos, parrots, birds of paradise, which live in the wild and dare to fly over the heads of visitors.

To reach this site, you have to travel overland from Fakfak City to Ubadari pier. The journey takes about 2 hours by motor vehicle. After arriving at Ubadari pier, you can take a boat or longboat. This water trip will take 2 hours. If the tide is high, you can go up to the cliff and see this painting up close. However, if the water recedes, the beauty of this cliff painting can only be enjoyed from the top of the longboat.