Papua has unique and exciting traditional clothes as the cultural wealth of the archipelago. This article will review the types of traditional Papuan clothing with all its features.
Let’s discuss them one by one.
- Koteka
Koteka has a unique shape with the main function of only covering the male genitalia, while other parts of the body remain naked.
Besides Koteka, this men’s clothing is also known as hilon, harim, or bobbe.
These traditional clothes are generally made from the skin of an old water gourd after removing the seeds and flesh.
The skin of the water pumpkin is then dried to get a more intricate and durable texture. To wear this traditional dress is to hook it to the waist, pointing up.
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- Kurung Dress
Papua also has a traditional dress known as the ‘Kurung’ Dress. This traditional dress for women is velvet and is worn as a top.
They wear these clothes for traditional activities. For the lower part of the outfit, usually use a tassel skirt complete with decorations on the neck, arms, and waist.
To beautify the appearance, these traditional clothes are usually combined with accessories such as bracelets, necklaces of paper grain, and head coverings of cassowary feathers to beautify the appearance.
- Rumbai Skirt
The next Papuan traditional dress is the Rumbai Skirt. These clothes are made of dry sago arranged to cover the lower part of the body. This skirt is not only worn by women but also by men in different ways.
Men wearing tassel skirts do not wear tops. The upper body remains bare-chested. The upper part of the body is usually made of tattoos or paintings from natural ink with pictures of flora and fauna. Women also do not use tops when worn with men who wear koteka.
Using this tassel skirt is also easy, just wrap it around the waist and tie it with a knot.
- Grass Cloth Dress
Clothes made of grass material can be for both men and women and are generally worn by modern Papuan people in South Sorong.
This traditional dress is made from the tops of dried sago leaves. The way of making it is quite complicated because there are conditions that must be met, where the sago leaves must be taken when the sea water is high.
Before making clothes in a traditional way, sago leaves must be soaked and dried. How to weave is using wood measuring one meter.
When it is finished weaving, the dry grass is then twisted together. The twisted grass is generally used as a belt.
- Yokal
Yokal is a quite popular traditional dress in West Papua, especially in remote areas. Having a distinctive reddish-brown color, Yokal is a symbol of the closeness of the Papuan people to nature.
In the daily life of the people of West Papua, not just any woman can wear this traditional dress. Yokal is only worn by married women.
However, over time, Papuans no longer wear these clothes on a daily basis but only when there are cultural festivals or special traditional events. Instead, they have used modern skirts.
The unique thing about this traditional dress is its distinctive accessories, such as a head tassel, pig fangs and dog teeth, as well as a noken bag.
This bag is made of woven bark which is generally used to store game, such as birds and rabbits, as well as vegetables and fruits.
- Sali
If Yokal is used by married women, Sali is used by single women. For the people of Papua, Sali is a traditional dress that cannot be worn on any occasion. There is a special procedure for wearing clothes made from the bark of this tree.
The materials used should not be arbitrary. The bark of the tree must be brown in order to produce a perfect, beautiful, and attractive outfit.
The unique thing that still applies today is that married women are not allowed to wear these traditional clothes anymore.
Those are 6 traditional Papuan clothes with unique and high aesthetics. This traditional clothing must be preserved as an invaluable national treasure.
