Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village

Philosophy and Traditional Architecture: The Honai House as the Center of Life

The landscape of Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village is dominated by rows of Honai houses arranged neatly according to traditional settlement patterns. The structure of these buildings is not merely aesthetic but a manifestation of the philosophy of protection and togetherness. The thick thatched roofs and wooden walls without windows are specifically designed to withstand the extreme cold temperatures in Intan Jaya.

In this cultural center, visitors can learn the specific differences between Honai (men's house), Ebei (women's house), and Wamai (livestock pen). Each building has an educational role: Ebei serves as a space for mothers to pass down knowledge about food processing and crafts to their daughters, while Honai is a place for oral history and customary law to be transmitted from elders to the youth.

Performing Arts: Narratives of Movement and Sound

One of the main attractions of Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village is the revitalization of traditional performing arts. The Waita dance is one of the most prominent. Unlike coastal dances that tend to be graceful, the dances in Sugapa reflect the resilience of the mountain people. Rhythmic stomping of feet on the earth is accompanied by distinctive shouts symbolizing the spirit of past warfare, which has now transformed into dances of welcoming guests and giving thanks for the harvest.

This cultural center regularly holds Pikon music practice sessions. This wind instrument made of bamboo produces a melancholic yet magical sound. In Sugapa, playing the Pikon is not just considered entertainment but a way of communicating with nature and ancestral spirits. The youth in this village are required to learn Pikon blowing techniques so that this mountainous sound heritage does not become extinct, eroded by the currents of electronic music.

Traditional Crafts and Creative Economy: Noken and Handicrafts

Empowerment programs at Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village are heavily focused on handicrafts, especially the creation of Noken from natural wood fibers. Noken from Intan Jaya has unique characteristics in its weaving patterns and the types of wood fibers used, which are sourced from trees in the forests around Sugapa.

The cultural center provides workshops for tourists and local youth to learn manual yarn spinning from bark. Besides Noken, the creation of traditional tools such as bows and arrows (with distinctive Moni tribe carvings) and jewelry made from boar tusks and bird-of-paradise feathers (sustainably sourced according to customary law) are part of the skills curriculum here. The aim is for craft art not only to be decorative but also a source of creative economy for the local community.

Educational Programs and Community Engagement

Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village implements the concept of a "Living Museum." The educational programs offered include:

1. Customary School: Children in Sugapa receive special lessons to learn their mother tongue, considering the degradation of regional language use among the youth.

2. Traditional Agriculture: Visitors can participate in programs to plant and harvest sweet potatoes (hipere) using the traditional pata-pata technique. This provides a deep understanding of the Sugapa community's relationship with their land.

3. Cultural Literacy: Documentation of folk tales and tribal genealogies in Intan Jaya in book and digital media formats so that oral history is not lost when the elders pass away.

The local community is not just a tourist object but also an active manager. Decisions regarding the village's development are made through deliberation in open spaces, ensuring that all tourism activities respect the norms of decency and the sacredness of the local area.

Cultural Events: Bakar Batu Festival and Harvest Thanksgiving

The highlight of activities at Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village is the Bakar Batu (Barapen) ceremony. Here, this ritual is performed with extraordinary precision, from selecting river stones, digging pits, to layering jati leaves and grass. This festival serves as an arena for reconciliation and strengthening brotherhood among clans in Intan Jaya.

In addition, there are annual celebrations related to the agricultural cycle. During this event, the entire community will wear complete traditional attire—koteka for men and sali for women—and adorn their bodies with clay and natural paints as a form of collective identity. Tourists present during this moment will experience a profound spiritual experience, witnessing how humans and nature interact in honest harmony.

Heritage Conservation and Future Challenges

As a cultural center in the new province of Central Papua, Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village bears a great responsibility in environmental conservation. Many customary rituals here are directly related to the protection of forests and water sources. There are certain forest areas around Sugapa categorized as "forbidden forests," where no one is allowed to cut wood or hunt. These customary rules effectively preserve Intan Jaya's biodiversity.

However, challenges such as accessibility and security stability in the mountainous region remain. This cultural center continues to strive to build a positive image that Intan Jaya is a place rich in spiritual beauty and cultural grandeur. They utilize information technology to market craft products and promote cultural activities, so Sugapa remains connected to the outside world without losing its identity.

Role in Local Cultural Development

The existence of Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village has sparked a resurgence of identity pride among the people of Intan Jaya. Before this center developed rapidly, many young people felt ashamed to use traditional attributes. Now, through various festivals and community engagement programs, the identity of being a resilient and cultured mountain person is once again upheld.

This cultural center also collaborates with the Central Papua regional government to make Sugapa a model for community-based tourism village development. This proves that development in Papua does not always have to mean massive physical modernization, but rather strengthening existing cultural roots.

Conclusion: Hope from the Central Mountains

Sugapa Cultural Tourism Village is tangible proof that tradition is a living entity. It continuously adapts without betraying its origins. Through dance, Noken weaving, and the smoke from fires within the Honai, Sugapa invites the world to see Central Papua from a different perspective: a perspective of resilience, honor, and deep love for the ancestral land. Here, in the heart of Intan Jaya, history continues to be written with every step of the dancers and every pluck of the Pikon strings that cut through the mountain silence.