HONAI HOUSE

January 23, 2009

By Rizalina Tama Saragi
SMAKBO Indonesia
Honai is the traditional house of the mountainous community in central Papua. The house has a round
shape and is usually occupied by 5-10 people. Made from planks of rough wood with the sago palm
roof-top, a Honai is approximately 4-6 meters in diameter and 5-7 meters in height. It has woven
bamboo arranged circling the interior walls of the house and one door at the front. The house has four
support poles in the middle and fireplace to chase out cold air at night, it is also the place to cooked;
hipere (sweet potatoes), wam (pig), and vegetables. The floor is usually just the earth covered with
dried grass.
There men and women live in separate areas of the Honai, usually the men sleep circled around in the
ground floor, with the head in the middle and foot on the edge outside, likewise the women sleep on the
first floor. The women and children lived in same house, but if the boys grown up they move into their
father’s Honai. The ground floor and the first floor are connected with a ladder from bamboo. They
also generally they have are 3 different buildings according to functions. One Honai is for resting place
(sleep), the second is where they usually to eat together in a crowd and the third building is for the
livestock pen.