We can start to understand the culture by understanding the society first. As we talk about society, we could not push ourselves away from the way they live, and that’s why housing plays a vital role in the cultural study. If we want to learn more about Papuans, we can start by seeing the traditional Papua house of Papua and West Papua.
Papua is an island in the eastern part of Indonesia with a lot of cultural diversity and abundant natural resources. This unique diversity of exotic Papua is also represented through their traditional houses. Every traditional house has a different function and story. Let’s embrace the exotism and the true beauty of Papua by learning more about their traditional houses.
Honai House
The most famous traditional Papua house is Honai. This house is a traditional house of the Dani tribe in Wamena. Honai house is also known as ‘Onai,’ which means house. This house is called Honai Pilamo House because it is occupied by adult men.
The notable characteristics of Honai lie in the round shape of the house with a conical roof like a mushroom and only has one door without a window. Honai’s roof is generally made of straw, and the walls are made of wood. The shape of the top of the Honai house is deliberately conical to reduce the cold and avoid the rain.
Hunila House
An elongated and wider shape characterizes Hunila’s house compared to Honai. This traditional Papua house has functioned as a kitchen where the residents prepare the foods.
Usually, the Papua women cook sago or roast sweet potatoes in the Hunila house. The women will deliver the food to Pilamo and the rest of their families.
Ebei or Huma House
Ebei or Huma house has a similar shape as Honai house. However, what distinguishes Ebei house and Honai house is who occupies them.
The facade and characteristics of this traditional Papua house are almost the same as Honai. However, the Ebei house is only occupied by mothers, girls, and boys. It is a place where mothers nurture and teach their children before they enter adulthood.
Millipede House
Mod Aki Aksa is called a millipede house because it has many legs or foundation pillars like a millipede. It is a traditional house of the Arfak Tribe in West Papua.
The roof of this house is made of thatch grass, while the floor is made of woven rattan. In comparison, the house walls are made of wood arranged horizontally and vertically by binding each other.
The Aki Aksa mod itself has a shape like a house on stilts. What distinguishes the Aksa battery mod from other houses on stilts is the number of foundation poles as the central pillar of the house.
Wamai House
This Papua traditional house is not aimed for residential, but for cattle’s places. The Wamai is named after what Papuan calls pig: wam.
The shape of the Wamai house itself is almost similar to Hunila’s but has a smaller size. It is also placed in corners that are a bit far from Honai house.
Wamai house building is special for the Dani people because wam or pigs are very valuable to them.
House of Rumsram
Rumsram house is a traditional Papua house originating from the Biak Numfor tribe, located on the north coast of Papua. It is a place where teachers teach many lessons for the youth.
Rumsram house has a height of about 6-8 meters on average. The building is divided into two parts which are distinguished based on the level of the floor.
This house is characterized by an upturned boat-look alike roof. The roof design is inspired by the profession of most people of the Biak Numfor tribe: sailors. The floor is made of bark, the walls are made of water bamboo and sago midrib, and the unique roof is made of dried sage leaves.
Tree House
The indigenous Papuan hinterland tribe, the Korowai Tribe, also has its own traditional Papua house called the treehouse. This house is located on a tree branch with a height of about 15-50 meters and one of the most famous Papua traditional houses foreign people notice.
The Korowai tribe built this treehouse to avoid wild animals and the disturbance of evil spirits called “paleo”.
The Korowai people believe that Paleo is an evil creature or cruel demon who walks like a zombie and will roam at night. The higher the house they build, the more protected they will be from evil spirits.
From those Papua traditional houses, we can recognize that the Papuan tribes have a rich culture and complex community roles. Through the house, these roles are carried out correctly and regularly, providing a harmonious life for the tribes in Papua.
