Understanding Papua Culture

Papua Culture

Papua is a province located in the easternmost part of Indonesia. This province is a rich province in arts and culture. This province has various tribes such as the Asmat tribe who inhabit the province, with people who highly respect the arts and culture in their area. The arts and culture in this area are very interesting, and unique.

Papua has a lot of arts and culture in it, the arts and culture are very unique and interesting. Here are some culture in Papua:

Language

There are hundreds of regional languages ​​that develop in ethnic groups in Papua. These various languages ​​cause difficulties in communicating between one ethnic group and another. Therefore, Indonesian is used officially by people in Papua even to the interior. 

Traditional Clothing

Papuan traditional clothes for men and women are almost the same in shape. The traditional clothes wear decorations such as a headdress in the form of a bird of paradise, bracelets, necklaces, and belts made of beads, as well as tassels on the ankles. However, there are also tribal communities in the interior of Papua who only use a koteka (penis gourd) to wrap their bodies

Traditional House

The Honai house is made of wood with a conical roof made of thatched. Honai deliberately built narrow or small and without windows which aims to withstand the cold mountains of Papua. Honai is built as high as 2.5 meters and in the middle of the house a place is prepared to make a bonfire to warm oneself.

Honai house is usually occupied by 5 to 10 people. Honai houses generally consist of 2 floors consisting of the first floor for beds while the second floor is used as a place to relax, eat, and do handicrafts.

Traditional Dance

Traditional Dance in Papua in essentially an expression of arts dan belief. Papuan traditional dance is a celebration dan some are sacred dances of indigenous tribes in Papua which aims to soothe the spirits of the Papuan indigenous like Musyoh Dance. Famous Papuan dance Sajojo is a social dance of various indigenous tribes in Papua. This dance is quite well known as a welcoming dance which is often performed in welcoming guests and other events. Another example of dance like Yospan dance, which is a social dance of young people in Papua, appeared around 1960 and was even popular and used as a movement in physical health gymnastics. The word Yospan itself is an acronym for Yosim Pancar which is the name of a separate dance. This Yospan dance is indeed an amalgamation of 2 traditional Papuan dances. Yosim is a dance from the Sairei Bay area, while the Pancar dance comes from the Biak, Numfor and Manokwari areas.

Traditional weapon

Papua has traditional weapons that are used to fight the enemy. Like a Papuan dagger made of cassowary leg bones and the feathers of the bird that adorn the edges of the dagger. But there are other weapons that are usually used, namely bows and arrows and javelins used for hunting

Typical Traditional Papuan Food

The typical food of Papua is sago which is made into porridge or known as papeda. Papuan people usually eat papeda with yellow sauce, which is made from tuna or mubara fish and is seasoned with turmeric and lime. Papuan also eat Sago Caterpillar Satay, which this type of food for us may make nausea and even vomiting. This sago caterpillar is obtained from the trunk of an old sago tree. Indigenous Papuans who are used to living in nature often consume sago caterpillars that are processed first. But now this sago caterpillar has been processed by burning until it is almost similar to satay. More precisely, this sago caterpillar satay is a typical food of Raja Ampat. Traditional food from fish is known as Wrapped Fish. This typical Papuan wrapped fish is made from two ingredients, namely sea fish and taro leaves as the material for wrapping it. The typical spices used are only salt to give it a salty taste and to remove the sap on the taro leaves used. The ingredients and spices are few and how to make it is very simple and easy. In making it, first clean the fish and then put it in the taro leaves and close it. finally burned over low heat until cooked. If it's cooked, it's removed and served immediately when it's warm.

Papuan Musical Instrument

Papua has many traditional musical instruments, one of which is the tifa. Tifa is a percussion instrument that looks almost like a drum. Tifa musical instrument is made of wood in which a large hole is made in the center of the wood which is cleaned. Then the end of one of the woods is closed using deer skin that has been dried which functions so that this tifa musical instrument can produce a beautiful and good sound.

Papuan Handy Crafts

Papuan people usually make handicrafts made from materials available in nature. Like a bag craft called Noken. This craft is made from woven bark, and the colors used come from natural dyes from plant roots and fruits. This Noken is commonly used and below by attaching the Noken above the head.

Please also read: The 8 Most Unique and Interesting Papuan Cultures and Traditions