Awyu, Jair in Indonesia

People Name:	Awyu, Jair
Country:	Indonesia
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	3,000
World Population:	3,000
Primary Language:	Awyu, Jair
Primary Religion:	Christianity
Christian Adherents:	72.00 %
Evangelicals:	6.00 %
Scripture:	Translation Needed
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	No
People Cluster:	New Guinea
Affinity Bloc:	Pacific Islanders
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

The few thousand Jair Awyu speakers live in Papua Indonesia. The largest town in the area (Getentiri) is located at the edge of the Digul River and can be reached by motorized or paddled canoe. The Jair Awyu area is often swampy (it is less than 100 meters above sea level). Boat service from Merauke takes about 5 days, but floatplanes can easily land on the Digul River.

The women plant gardens (of vegetables and tubers) and gather food from their surroundings. The men hunt and fish. The main food of the Jair Awyu people is sago. Sago worms, pig meat or hunted game serve to supplement their diet. The Jair Awyu people frequently use machetes, steel axes, bows and arrows. They also make (from wood) and use a tool for getting the sago from the felled sago trees.

Indonesian is the language of instruction in the schools, but at break times the elementary students use both Jair Awyu and Indonesian. A majority of the Jair Awyu people are Catholic as the Roman Catholic church has served in the area for more than 45 years.