HISTORY

History of Raja Ampat

Composed of 1,500 islands, this unspoiled paradise offers an exceptional and wonderful scenery above and below the seas. Raja Ampat’s underwater life is one of the best and it’s natural beauty, lush jungle, sandbanks and shallows are really unique.

As you might already know Raja Ampat means Four Kings.
Raja = King , Ampat = Four
The four main islands are Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo.

There is as many stories as there are tellers and stories about birth of Raja Ampat islands are quite interesting.
People from villages tells stories about a woman who finds seven eggs. Four of those seven eggs hatch and become the kings of four main Islands: Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool. Other 3 eggs becomes: a ghost, a woman & a stone.

But, there is actually a different story too.

Legend tells us, that around 500 years ago a daughter was born to the guardians of the “Kali Raja” – the King’s River in Raja Ampat. To avoid the shame this would have brought upon them, the river guardians let the newborn float out onto the open ocean on a small raft.

As fortune would have it, the child was washed ashore on an island we know today as Mioskon, where passing seafarers picked it up. The sailors, warriors and explorers from Biak, took the newborn to Numfoor island. There, she grew up and got married to a local chief, with whom she had a son named Kurabesi.

While this story can’t be proven, many historical facts give us clues to what actually might have happened if the newborn child was found on a deserted island.

With the rise of the first influential kingdoms on the Maluku islands, the sultanates of Ternate and Tidore started to be major players in the area. The territorial expansions inevitably led to prolonged conflicts, culminating in a fully grown war between the rivaling sultanates.

During the war of the sultans it was Kurabesi, a skilled warrior and excellent seafarer told to have power over the ancient spirits, who ultimately helped the sultan of Tidore to defeat his enemies. For his service Kurabesi was rewarded with the marriage to one of the sultans daughters, a princess of Tidore.

Together, the newlyweds moved back to settle in Raja Ampat. They had four children together, three sons and a daughter, who moved to different parts of the archipelago. Later, it was those four who were chosen to be rulers over the archipelago by its local population. Up to this day they are remembered as Raja Ampat, which literally translated means Four Kings.

The influence and the close ties the four kings maintained to their mother’s kingdom of origin are still visible today in many places all over Raja Ampat.

The Raja Ampat Area’s Massive Coral Colonies

Hidden from mass tourism, Raja Ampat is one of the most beautiful and unique travel destinations in Indonesia. Among divers, Raja Ampat is considered one of the best dive sites and travelers should not miss underwater life.
Raja Ampat is one of the richest coral areas in the world, with over 500 species of different corals in the area. More than 1,300 species of fish swim in the waters of Raja Ampat and the most majestic are Walking sharks, wobbegongs, devil rays and dugongs.

Raja Ampat is part of the Coral Triangle, which is composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands & Timor-Leste. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world’s coral reef biodiversity. Raja Ampat is on of the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.