Agats

Bis Agats is a town in Agats District of Asmat Regency, Papua, Indonesia. An elevated settlement on a tidal plain, a Dutch outpost was set up in Agats in 1938 and the town became notable for the cultural practices of the Asmat people. Following the formation of Asmat Regency in 2002, the town became its administrative seat.

Bis Agats
Town
Agats at noon
Nickname(s):  Kota Seribu Papan (Town of a Thousand Planks)[1]
Bis Agats Location of Agats in Western New Guinea
Coordinates: 5°32′30″S 138°08′00″E
Country	Indonesia
Province	Papua
Regency	Asmat Regency
Population  (2016 est.)
• Total	14,688[2]
Time zone	UTC+9 (IEST)
Postcode	99777
Area code	(+62) 902
Villages	12

Administrative villages

Agats District consists of 12 villages (kampung), namely:[2]

1. Asuwetsy
2. Bis Agats (the town)
3. Bisman
4. Bou
5. Briten (Biriten/Beriten)
6. Kaye
7. Mbait
8. Per
9. Saw
10. Suwru
11. Uwus
12. Yamoth (Yomoth)

History

Though Agats had been populated by the Asmat people for some time, as a largely waterfront settlement, the first non-native settlement originated in the late 1930s when a Catholic mission was established in the area, and later in 1938 the Dutch East Indies government established an outpost there.[3] Due to the Second World War, however, the Dutch abandoned the Agats post in 1942 due to the Japanese presence.[4]

In 1953, the Catholic mission was made permanent and the following year the Dutch government of Netherlands New Guinea established a permanent post in Agats, banning headhunting practices. During this period, Asmat woodcarving became popular, with collectors, museum representatives, ethnographers and scientists visiting the area.[4] One such person, Michael Rockefeller, disappeared after departing Agats for Southern Asmat in 1961, and was presumed dead.[5]

On 29 May 1969, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Agats was established, with American Alphonse Sowada becoming its first bishop.[6] The Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress (Museum Kebudayaan dan Kemajuan Asmat) was opened in Agats in 1973.[4] The Asmat Cultural Festival, held annually in the town, began in 1981.[7]

After Asmat became its own regency in 2002, Agats – being its administrative seat – saw a boost in building due to a need for government facilities and an increase of migrants, largely Bugis and Moluccans,[8] with the annual population growth of Agats being as high as 22 percent between 2005 and 2011 compared to 3 percent for Asmat Regency.[9] In recent years, the wooden roads in Agats have begun to be replaced by concrete ones by the regency's government.[10]

Following a major famine which struck Asmat Regency, in 2018 Indonesian President Joko Widodo offered to relocate residents of more remote areas to Agats, though the relocation faced significant resistance.[11]

Geography

Agats is located on the delta of the Asewets River, in a tidal lowland area.[12] Due to this, during high tides the water may rise up to 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level, resulting in the unique construction of the town in which all buildings and roads are elevated with wooden, and more recently concrete, structures.[13]

Administratively, the urban settlement is located within the kampung of Bis Agats, which had a population of 8,998 in 2016.[2][14]

Climate

Agats has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with very heavy rainfall year-round.

Climate data for Agats
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	31.7 (89.1)	31.6 (88.9)	31.7 (89.1)	31.6 (88.9)	31.0 (87.8)	29.9 (85.8)	29.1 (84.4)	29.3 (84.7)	30.2 (86.4)	31.1 (88.0)	32.0 (89.6)	31.9 (89.4)	30.9 (87.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.2 (81.0)	27.2 (81.0)	27.3 (81.1)	27.3 (81.1)	26.8 (80.2)	26.0 (78.8)	25.4 (77.7)	25.4 (77.7)	26.0 (78.8)	26.7 (80.1)	27.4 (81.3)	27.5 (81.5)	26.7 (80.0)
Average low °C (°F)	22.8 (73.0)	22.8 (73.0)	22.9 (73.2)	23.0 (73.4)	22.7 (72.9)	22.1 (71.8)	21.7 (71.1)	21.6 (70.9)	21.8 (71.2)	22.3 (72.1)	22.8 (73.0)	23.1 (73.6)	22.5 (72.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	308 (12.1)	330 (13.0)	427 (16.8)	414 (16.3)	420 (16.5)	336 (13.2)	388 (15.3)	420 (16.5)	391 (15.4)	368 (14.5)	284 (11.2)	324 (12.8)	4,410 (173.6)
Source: Climate-Data.org[15]

Transport and facilities

Agats is served by pioneer, government-subsidized flights from Merauke and Mimika through the nearby Ewer Airport (IATA: EWE), in addition to passenger boats to Timika and Merauke.[1] Both the airport and the river port are planned for upgrades in 2019, allowing the airport to take larger ATR aircraft and the river port to take larger "Tol Laut" ships.[16][17] Recently introduced electric motorcycles are used for transport in the city, with electrical charging stations run by PLN.[18]

A public hospital is present in Agats.[19] As the water of the Asewetz next to the town is brackish and polluted, the town largely depends on rainwater and bottled water, in addition to pumped water from another river nearby.[20]

References

Footnotes

1. Feb Janur, Katharina (4 February 2018). "Asmat, Kota Seribu Papan di Atas Rawa". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 March 2019.
2. Statistics Indonesia. "Kecamatan Agats Dalam Angka 2017 (Agats Subdistrict in Numbers, 2017)". asmatkab.bps.go.id (in Indonesian). p. 15. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3. Lubis 2017, pp. 75, 77.
4. Wassing, René (2012). "History: Colony, Mission and Nation". Asmat Art: Woodcarvings of Southwest New Guinea. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462909643.
5. Hoffmann, Carl (March 2014). "What Really Happened to Michael Rockefeller". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
6. "Agats (Latin (or Roman) Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
7. "Asmat Cultural Festival a great initiative". Antara News (in Indonesian). 12 October 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
8. Lubis 2017, pp. 77–78.
9. Wambrauw & Morgan, p. 84. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWambrauwMorgan (help)
10. "Hebatnya Motor Listrik di Asmat". Kabar Papua (in Indonesian). 4 April 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
11. Salim, Hanz Jimenez (13 April 2018). "Jokowi Mengaku Kesulitan Pindahkan Penduduk Asmat dari Distrik Terpencil". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 March 2019.
12. Wambrauw & Morgan 2015, p. 73.
13. Wambrauw & Morgan 2015, p. 75.
14. "PERATURAN KEPALA BADAN PUSAT STATISTIK NOMOR 37 TAHUN 2010" (PDF). Statistics Indonesia. p. 779. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
15. "Climate: Agats". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
16. "2019, Pesawat ATR Ditargetkan Mendarat di Bandara Ewer Asmat". KOMPAS (in Indonesian). 24 August 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
17. "2019, Ditjen Hubdat akan Optimalkan Pembangunan Dermaga Pelabuhan Agats Papua". Berita Trans (in Indonesian). 2 December 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
18. Siagian, Wilpret (8 February 2018). "1.920 Motor di Asmat Pakai Tenaga Listrik". detikfinance (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 March 2019.
19. "Direktur RSUD Agats: Pasien Campak dan Gizi Buruk Berkurang". Republika (in Indonesian). 6 February 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
20. Wambrauw & Morgan 2015, pp. 75–76.

Bibliography

Wambrauw, Elisabeth Veronika; Morgan, Te Kipa Kepa Brian (2015). "Understanding the Differing Realities Experienced by Stakeholders Impacted by the Agats Municipal Water Supply, Papua" (PDF). Water Utility Journal. 11: 73–91.

Lubis, Basauli Umar (2017). "Agats: The Waterfront City of the Asmat" (PDF). Nakhara. 13: 75–82.