"Music Helps a West Papuan Feeling": West Papuan Musicians Mobilizing Affect and Communitas in Melbourne

Music making is an everyday activity for many people in the West Papuan community in Melbourne, Australia. The music they make negotiates the complex cultural and political dimensions implied by the term "West Papua"; the identity is especially complex for people living apart from the regi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Contemporary Pacific Vol. 36; no. 1; p. COV1
Main Author: Salay, Sebastian
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: University of Hawaii Press 22.03.2024
Subjects:
Analysis
Community life
Emigration and immigration
Musicians
Papuans
Social aspects
Australia
Indonesia
ISSN:1043-898X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Music making is an everyday activity for many people in the West Papuan community in Melbourne, Australia. The music they make negotiates the complex cultural and political dimensions implied by the term "West Papua"; the identity is especially complex for people living apart from the region itself. West Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea, is the site of ongoing conflict and occupation. Resistance to Indonesian administration of the region is carried out by several loosely organized independence movements, which emphasize West Papuan cultural and political identity. According to Adam, a musician and regular presenter on the Voice of West Papua radio show, advocates for independence often use "music as a weapon."
ISSN:1043-898X