West Papua has not only extraordinary natural beauty but also a fantastic variety of cultures. One cultural product that is quite stunning from West Papua is their traditional house. Here are some West Papua traditional houses you should know about. Check this out!
Honai: Traditional House of the Dani Tribe
What are Honai homes? Honai is a traditional house from the Dani tribe with a pretty unique shape, like a mushroom. This building has a relatively small size, which is about five square meters.
Unlike ordinary houses in general, this Dani tribal house does not have any room divider. In Honai’s, there is only one fireplace in the middle of the room, which is a place to gather and warm up.
Uniquely, Honai can only be occupied by men. As for women, they will live in a traditional house called Ebei. Then how do a husband and wife want to have sex? Married couples are allowed to have sex on Ebei when no one else is in it.
One of the interesting facts about this Honai house is that the construction process can only be done by men working together. The main reason is to maintain unity and harmony between the tribal members.
Ebei: Residence for Dani Men
If the Honai house is a residence for Dani men, then the Ebei’s is a residence for Dani women and teenage boys. This Ebei house has almost the same shape as Honai’s house. Only it is smaller and shorter.
What is the function of Ebei house? At Ebei’s house, mothers would teach their daughters and sons about life before adulthood. In addition, Ebei’s house is also a place for women to carry out daily activities such as making handicrafts and having a conversation with others.
The Ebei house has a pretty deep philosophy for the Papuan people. This Papua traditional house is built in a circle alongside the Honai house. This circle shape is a philosophy that the Dani tribe has solid cooperation and unity.
Thousand Feet House (Rumah Kaki Seribu)
The Thousand Feet House is a traditional house of West Papua from the Arfak tribe who live in the mountains of Arfak Manokwari. This house has the nickname Thousand Feet House because it has many pillars as its support.
The Thousand Feet House building has a building shape that resembles a house on stilts. This design is used for reasonable reasons. The Arfak tribe lives and lives in the forest and mountainous environments, and the house stilts design will help them avoid any wild animal attacks.
Unlike other houses on stilts that use the foundation of several large pillars, this Thousand Feet House is not like that. This Thousand Feet House, or Aki Aksa Mod, uses wood with a diameter of only 10 cm to support its weight. The length of the wooden pole for Rumah Kaki Seribu is 1.5 meters. Interestingly, this house uses wood fibers to tie every existing log.
Rumsram: A House Only for Men
The following traditional house of west Papua is Rumsram. The Rumsram house is the home of the Biak Numfor tribe. Just like Honai’s house, this Rumsram house can only be inhabited by men. Meanwhile, women are prohibited from entering or even approaching.
The Rumsram house serves to educate the boys of the Biak Numfor tribe who are starting to grow up. They do this so that the men of the Biak Numfor tribe have sufficient knowledge to live independently.
Rumsram’s house building has a shape like an overturned boat because the background of the Biak Numfor tribe is sailors. The walls of Rumsram’s house are built of water bamboo, bark for the floor, and dry sago leaf for the roof. Rumsram’s traditional house has two floors with a size of six to eight meters.Well, those are some West Papua traditional houses. Each house has its own functions and uniqueness.
