Noken

Noken (in West Papua region, Indonesia) or bilum (in Papua New Guinea) is a multifunctional knotted or woven bag, native to Papua Island. Its distinctive usage, which involves being hung from the head, is traditionally used to carry various goods, and also children.

Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua
A noken bag
CountryIndonesia
CriteriaKnowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, Oral traditions and expressions, Performing arts, Social practices, rituals and festive events, and Traditional craftsmanship
Reference619
RegionAsia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription2012 (7th session)
ListNeed of Urgent Safeguarding

Noken is a knotted net or woven bag handmade from wood fibre or leaves by communities in Papua and West Papua Provinces of Indonesia. Men and women use it for carrying plantation produce, catch from the sea or lake, firewood, babies or small animals as well as for shopping and for storing things in the home.

In 2012, noken was listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists as a cultural heritage of Indonesia.[1] Women carrying noken are still a common sight in Wamena.[2]

In several areas of West Papua region, noken – instead of the usual ballot box – is preferred as a way to place ballots, where it is recognized as a ballot tool in the Papua regional leadership elections.[3][4]

On December 4, 2020, Google celebrated noken with a Google Doodle.[5]

  • Selling and Making Noken

References
  1. ""Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua", Inscribed in 2012 (7.COM) on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding". UNESCO. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. Nethy Dharma Somba (26 September 2011). "Transforming Wamena into Papua's tourism icon". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  3. Nethy Dharma Somba (5 February 2009). "Papuans in remote areas prefer 'noken' to ballot box". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  4. Andi Hajramurni; Nethy Dharma Somba (22 January 2013). "S. Sulawesi set for vote; Papua rules on 'noken'". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  5. "Celebrating Noken Papua". Google. 4 December 2020.


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