Papuan Honai Traditional Houses Continue to be Preserved

Papuan Honai Traditional Houses Continue to be Preserved

Honai traditional houses are rarely seen, but the Puncak Jaya Regional Government is trying to preserve the traditional houses in an effort to preserve the culture of the local community. The existence of the Honai House can be found in valleys and mountains in Papua, especially at an altitude of 1,600 - 1,700 meters above sea level.
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In an effort to preserve the culture of the local community, the existence of Papuan traditional houses precisely in Puncak Jaya continues to be preserved. Honai House is known as the traditional house of the Papuan people. Even though the original honai house was a traditional house of the Dani.
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Its physical form is somewhat conical with thatched roof or ordinary grass. Although it looks simple, but the honai house has toughness in terms of air circulation.
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Honai's house is made of wood with a cone-shaped roof. This house was deliberately built narrow and small and even did not lock together in order to withstand the cold in the mountains of Papua.
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The Dani live in very cold valleys. For this reason, the honai house was built with a height of only 2.5 to 5 meters. The average honai house window is only one. Some houses don't even have windows. The point is the same, so that warm air is trapped inside the house.
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In addition, the door of the house must face the direction of sunrise or sunset. This is different from a typical urban house that is relatively built with a high roof to catch the wind so that the temperature is cooler because the weather is quite hot.
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In the belief of the local community, the placement of this door serves so that the Dani men prepare if the enemy comes. However, if examined more scientifically, the placement of doors in the East or West is intended so that the room in the house is able to capture the heat of the sun. The heat entered the house to warm the occupants of the honai house at night.
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The name "honai" itself comes from two words namely hun meaning man and ai meaning home. In accordance with its meaning, honai is a special home for adult men. One house is usually occupied by up to 10 men.
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The men's house has only one room with two floors. In the middle of the room there is a bonfire as a source of heat at night. The upper floor is used for sleeping men. At the bottom of the honai house, it is usually used as a storage place for war equipment, even the mummies of Dani's ancestors. Adult men also used to gather in the room.
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As for women, the Dani know another traditional house called "ebe'ai" or often called the ebai house. Not only a place to rest for women and children of the Dani, the Ebai house is also a place to educate Dani girls. Until it becomes a place to connect husband and wife.