Indonesia’s advantage as an archipelagic country is broad, giving it diverse traditions, cultures, and ethnicities. One of them is Papua, the easternmost province in Indonesia and directly adjacent to Papua New Guinea. This island has a unique culture, and fashion items from Papua vary from east to west.
Fashion Items from Papua and Their Physical Significances
Physically, the traditional dress of Papua is a skirt-like garment composed of coconut fiber or dried palm leaves. Papuans use bird feathers as accents on bracelets and necklaces. Typically, they adorned their garments with feathers from paradise birds.
Traditional Papuan clothing is constructed without fabric, which makes it unusual. The clothing is typically used for daily activities, even if only ancient tribes still wore it. Furthermore, the Papuans still regard this attire as traditional, saving it for special occasions like weddings.
Papuans don’t wear makeup; instead, they utilize face painting to adorn their appearance, typically white on their faces and bodies. They also add the white color using pig tusks. Despite having a black complexion, they enjoy accessorizing their attire with white-colored items like pig tusks.
6 Fashion Items from Papua
Noken Bag
The Noken bag is an original fashion item from Papua, a knitted bag with authentic wood fiber. Papuans used it on their head, but they were free to use it wherever they wanted, either on their hand or head.
The sizes, colors, and models of Noken bags also vary, and Toppers can freely choose according to your wishes. Indigenous Papuans usually also use Noken bags to carry market shopping results.
Dog Teeth and Pig Fangs
The Papuans wear dog teeth as necklaces and pig tusks as piercings between the nostrils. Dog teeth are obtained by storing the dead dog’s head in a sago sheath in a hidden place. The dog’s head is left alone until the teeth fall out. Dog and pig teeth for the Korowai Tribe are valuable items. If someone steals a dog’s head that is kept in a hidden place, it could result in a fight.
Head Tassel Decoration
The heads of the Papuan tribes are generally decorated with tassels shaped like a crown. The function of this tassel decoration is as an additional decoration of traditional Papuan clothes. Cassowary feathers and rabbit fur make up this tassel.
Papuan Batik
Who says batik is only known as the island of Java? Batik is also one of the fashion items from Papua! Batik from Papua is striking because the motif of a typical Papuan statue and the bird of paradise adds to the beauty of this Papuan Batik.
Papuan batik is one of the mandatory recommendations for souvenirs typical of West Papua that you must take home. So, don’t forget to buy Papuan souvenirs while visiting West Papua because maybe the opportunity won’t come twice.
Papuan Pearls
Did you know West Papua is where the best pearls are found? Yes!
In Raja Ampat, you can see pearl cultivation because Raja Ampat is the center of pearl production. Mutiara is one of the typical West Papuan souvenirs in demand in the market, and you must take it home once.
Not only as souvenirs typical of West Papua that local travelers favor, but pearls have also been imported to many countries such as Singapore and Japan.
Koteka
Koteka is no longer only used by the Papuan people, especially the Dani people, as traditional accessories. However, the Koteka is also one of the targets of travelers to be used as souvenirs typical of West Papua.
Initially, the Koteka was not patterned, but because the demand for the Koteka as a typical Papuan souvenir is very high, there are many Koteka with motifs and bird feather decorations.
Wrapping Up
The Indonesian government used fashion items from Papua for cultural marketing. They introduced the fashion items through prestigious events on an international scale. By using indigenous costumes, they provide Papuan traditional dance performances.
It is known that conventional Papuan clothing is the simplest among other traditional clothing in Indonesia. The process is also very fast. You just need to focus on details such as the white color accessory and Paradise bird feather.
