The Wai Apu people are one of the native peoples of Buru island in Maluku, Indonesia, typically inhabiting the north-east of the island in what are now the Namlea and Waplau [id] districts.
Research from the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs in 1985 numbers the Wai Apu population at approximately 44,048.
[1] The creator opolastala formed Mount Date and Lake Rana [id], together a region termed bumilale, as the source of life for humanity.
Accordingly bumilale occupies a central position within the Wai Apu belief system, conceptualised as a paradise surpassing all other regions in its beauty, one which must be protected from outside harm to preserve its harmony.
[2] In the Wai Apu cosmology, Buru island (bupolo) is likened metaphorically to a human, with the various geographic features representing anatomical features:[2]