Thousand-foot house Typical Arfak tribe

Helloindonesia.id – It turns out that not only animals have a thousand legs, there are also houses with thousand legs. This is the traditional house of the Arfak tribe, West Papua, named Mod Aki Aksa or Igkojei and better known as the Thousand Foot House. Typically, houses on stilts have a foundation pole that is only found on the side of the edge of the house. However, unlike other types of houses on stilts, this house has a house foundation pillars scattered throughout the bottom of the house and becomes the main building support. Because of this uniqueness, the traditional house is called the Thousand Foot House.

The Thousand Foot House has a shape that is not much different from the stilt house in general. The roof of this house is made of weeds and the floor is made of rattan. The walls are strong enough because they are made of wood arranged horizontally and vertically and bind together. With an average height of around 4-5 meters and an area of ​​approximately 8×6 meters, this house is big enough and comfortable to be a place to live. The large poles have a diameter of 10 centimeters per pole and are arranged with a distance of approximately 30 centimeters between the poles. It is this density that makes this house unique and has many legs.

The uniqueness that is not less interesting is, the design of a house that only has 2 doors without any other door, not even a window. Like the design of many supporting poles of the house, this uniqueness was made not without purpose. The height of the house, the number of foundation piles, and the relatively closed design were intended to prevent families from living from wild animals and cold air and natural disasters such as storms. Moreover, the conditions of people who are often in conflict are also the reason for the unusual appearance of the Thousand Foot House. The point is that those who live in this house remain safe from enemy threats with easy supervision because the house is in a high place and only has 2 doors for access in and out.

As modernization developed and transmigrants from other provinces came to West Papua, Rumah Seribu Millions were rarely found in big cities. People who still use this unique house are Arfak natives and are usually located deep in the interior, especially in the middle around the Arfak Mountains. It is difficult to escape from modernization, but the Rumah Seribu Millions tradition is feasible and must be preserved. This is important because this tradition has positive values ​​of life that are good for future generations to learn.
https://www.indonesiakaya.com/jelajah-indonesia/detail/rumah-kaki-seribu-khas-suku-arfak

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