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Aru Islands, Indonesian Kepulauan Aru, Dutch Aroe Eilanden,
easternmost island group of the Moluccas, eastern Indonesia, in the Arafura Sea. Administratively they form part of Maluku
province. The group extends north-south about 110 miles (180 km) and
some 50 miles (80 km) east-west and consists largely of six main islands
(Warilau, Kola, Wokam, Kobroor, Maikoor, and Trangan) separated by five
narrow channels. About 85 smaller islands bring the group’s total area
to 3,306 square miles (8,563 square km). Dobo, the main town, on small
Wamar Island, is the site of the principal harbour and a minor airport.
All the islands are low, covered with dense forest, and edged by swampy
coastal areas. Vegetation includes screw pines, palm trees, kanari (Java almond), and tree ferns. Trangan has grassy plains. Fauna is Papuan with strong Australian affinities; marsupials are the dominant mammals.
The
inhabitants are of mixed Papuan and Malay ancestry and adhere to
traditional animist religions. Some Muslims and Christians inhabit the
western islands, where the villages are coastal and nestle among clumps
of trees. In the eastern islands the villages stand on high rocks.
Houses are entered by a trapdoor in the middle of the floor. Crops
include sago, rice, corn (maize), sugar, tobacco, and coconuts.
Collecting trepang, pearls, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshells provides
the islanders’ main income.
Visited in 1606 by the Dutch, the Aru Islands were occupied by the Japanese in 1942. After World War II they reverted to the Netherlands, and they became part of Indonesia in 1949.
Sumber: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/37328/Aru-Islands