The three tribes in Indonesia are still living in a tree house!

Well, this time we will explore the various uniqueness of several tribes in Indonesia that still maintain the life patterns, customs and culture of their ancestral heritage to this day, namely building houses on trees. What tribes are they?!

 

1. Kombai Tribe

The Kombai tribe is one of the tribes in Indonesia who live in Citak Mitak, Mappi Regency, Papua Province. This tribe is nomadic people who live in nomadic life. If their food sources, such as tubers, sago, or animals such as fish, pigs, and deer have run out, they will move to another place.

 

The Kombai tribe builds houses on trees with a height of 10 to 30 meters above the ground. This house is made of wood, rattan, bamboo slats and sago bark. It takes a straight ladder made of wood to reach the house. At night this ladder is raised and stored on the terrace of the house.

The roofs of their houses are made of sago leaves which are woven together and tied with rattan. Uniquely, none of the nails or wooden pegs were used to make their house. All are only tied with strong rattan.

It is not without reason that the Kombai Tribe lives in these tree houses. They build houses on top of trees, to avoid wild animals and also interference from evil spirits.

For their daily food, the Kombai tribe works to gather sago which grows wild in the forest. In addition, they also cultivate fields and crops. Their staple crops are sweet potato, banana and sugarcane. Their other livelihoods are hunting lizards, crocodiles, wild boar, kangaroos, birds, and fishing. They also raise pigs, as they are considered valuable animals which are symbols of wealth and dowry! Mature pigs are released in the forest after first being marked on their ears. If the owner needs a pig, he can hunt in the forest, but must pay attention that the pig he catches does not belong to anyone else.

The Kombai tribe believes in the existence of ancestral spirits and evil spirits that affect human life. The most powerful spirit is the Rebabu! Then the spirit who is considered the first being to come down from heaven as the ruler of the earth is called Sanolare. The spirits that are considered evil and feared are the spirits of people who die unnaturally called Kwai! There are also spirits who are used by shamans to harm others, called mau-mau and suang-di.

 

2. Korowai Tribe

Just like the Kombai Tribe, the Korowai Tribe also comes from Citak Mitak, Mappi Regency, Papua Province. The Korowai tribe was only discovered about 30 years ago in the interior of Papua, by a group of anthropologists, Piter Ven Arsdale, geographer Robert Mitton, and community developer Mark Grundhoefer who got lost, accidentally entering the territory of the Korowai tribe. The Korowai tribe currently has a population of around 3000 people.

 

The Korowai tribes also live in a tree house called "Rumah Tinggi". Some houses can even reach a height of 50 meters above the ground. Made of wood, rattan, bamboo slats and bark.

 

The Korowai Tribe House is built on a tree to prevent attacks from wild animals or even attacks from other tribes. To go up into the house, they made a ladder made of wood. Before occupying the house, they perform night rituals to ward off evil spirits. The Korowai tribe is one of the tribes in Papua mainland who does not use koteka.

 

The factor of the same area of ​​residence makes the character of this tribe not much different from the character of the Kombai Tribe. The Korowai and Kombai tribes are believed to be the last tribes from the stone age that still exist in the world. However, the Korowai Tribe is still connected to the outside world. They have settlements in Yaniruma, the banks of the Becking, Mu, Basman, Mabul, Eilanden and Khaiflambolup rivers.

 

The Korowai tribe has the same division of duties as the Kombai tribe. The men cut trees and go to the forest to hunt, while the women are in charge of raising children and looking for sago. The distinctive feature of the women of this tribe is that they usually wear short skirts made of wood and sago fiber.

 

3. Bunggu Tribe

The Bunggu tribe is a portrait of cultural wealth that must be preserved. This tribe lives in the mountainous area of ​​North Mamuju, has various kinds of uniqueness that are rarely done by ordinary humans. This tribe lives in the trees and uses nature as a source of livelihood. Their staple foods are cassava, sago and corn.

 

Their house is deliberately made on a tree to avoid wild animals, as well as a hiding place from other parties' threats. Understandably, the Bunggu tribe is accustomed to living in isolation, so they feel threatened if they find out about the presence of other people. However, along with the development of the era, and the forest which began to shrink due to illegal logging, to the clearing of oil palm land, they slowly built houses on stilts whose floors were only about two meters above the ground. The habit of moving was gradually abandoned.

 

The house of the Bunggu tribe measures 4 by 6 meters with a height of 2 to 3 meters. This house is divided into two rooms, namely for receiving guests and a place to rest as well as cooking.

 

This tribe has its roots from the Kaili Tribe, in Central Sulawesi! The ancestors of the Kaili Tribe then spread to a number of areas and formed new villages. From there emerged several new tribes, such as the Bunggu, Da a tribe and other tribes.

 

This tribe is also known as nomadic or nomadic. The house they live in only lasts a maximum of 6 months. They will leave the settlement if for them the environment is considered unfriendly, especially if one of their family members is sick or dies.

 

This tribe also maintains customary law. This law regulates all members of the tribe so as not to behave deviantly. Punishment is given by promoting deliberation in a traditional house called Bantaya. One of the penalties is paying a fine, which is adjusted according to the mistakes made.

 

Those are the three tribes in Indonesia, who still maintain their customs and life patterns of their ancestors, one of which is to make houses on trees!