Indonesia - Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua

"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. Noken may also be worn, often for traditional festivities, or given as peace offerings. The method of making Noken varies between communities, but in general, branches, stems or bark of certain small trees or shrubs are cut, heated over a fire and soaked in water. The remaining wood fibre is dried then spun to make a strong thread or string, which is sometimes coloured using natural dyes. This string is knotted by hand to make net bags of various patterns and sizes. The process requires great manual skill, care and artistic sense, and takes several months to master. The number of people making and using Noken is diminishing, however. Factors threatening its survival include lack of awareness, weakening of traditional transmission, decreasing numbers of craftspeople, competition from factory-made bags, problems in easily and quickly obtaining traditional raw materials, and shifts in the cultural values of Noken."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage


Noken is a Papuan traditional bag is carried by the head. It is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia. Five beautiful stamps used. Received in Penang island on October 9, 2020.

Indonesia - Three genres of traditional dance in Bali

"There are three genres of traditional Balinese dance – sacred, semi-sacred and that meant for enjoyment by communities at large. Traditional Balinese dances are performed by male and female dancers dressed in traditional costumes consisting of brightly coloured cloth painted with gold floral and faunal motifs, with gold-leafed and jewelled accessories. The dances are inspired by nature and symbolize particular traditions, customs and religious values. They combine a variety of different movements including a basic posture with the knees outward and the stomach held in, locomotive movements in different tempos and directions, transitional movements with dynamic changes, and facial expressions with eye movements revealing happiness, sadness, anger, fear and love – all accompanied by the music of the gamelan. In addition to being technically-skilled dancers, performers must have charisma, humility and discipline and a special spiritual energy that enlivens the performance. In Balinese communities, dances are mainly transmitted informally to children from an early age, within groups. Training begins with basic dance movements and positions and progresses to more intricate dances. The sessions continue until the students have memorized the sequence of movements. Traditional Balinese dances provide participants with a solid cultural identity grounded in the understanding that they are safeguarding the cultural heritage of their ancestors."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Balinese dancer. Thanks to Ey of Indonesia.

Indonesia - Indonesian Batik

"The techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik. Clothes with everyday designs are worn regularly in business and academic settings, while special varieties are incorporated into celebrations of marriage and pregnancy and into puppet theatre and other art forms. The garments even play the central role in certain rituals, such as the ceremonial casting of royal batik into a volcano. Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colours are desired." 

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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A Javanese lady making a batik cloth. Well known Indonesian batik includes Batik Solo, Batik Pekalongan, Batik Cirebon, Batik Lasem, Batik Jogja. Nice stamps used. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia.

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Motif Batik Jogjakarta. Thanks to Iqbal of Indonesia.

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Batik design from Maluku. Mailed with a Maluku North stamp. Thanks to Ayu of Indonesia.

Indonesia - Indonesian Kris

"The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger from Indonesia. Both weapon and spiritual object, the kris is considered to possess magical powers. The earliest known kris go back to the tenth century and most probably spread from the island of Java throughout South-East Asia.

Kris blades are usually narrow with a wide, asymmetrical base. The sheath is often made from wood, though examples from ivory, even gold, abound. A kris’ aesthetic value covers the dhapur (the form and design of the blade, with some 40 variants), the pamor (the pattern of metal alloy decoration on the blade, with approximately 120 variants), and tangguh referring to the age and origin of a kris. A bladesmith, or empu, makes the blade in layers of different iron ores and meteorite nickel. In high quality kris blades, the metal is folded dozens or hundreds of times and handled with the utmost precision. Empus are highly respected craftsmen with additional knowledge in literature, history and occult sciences.

Kris were worn everyday and at special ceremonies, and heirloom blades are handed down through successive generations. Both men and women wear them. A rich spirituality and mythology developed around this dagger. Kris are used for display, as talismans with magical powers, weapons, sanctified heirlooms, auxiliary equipment for court soldiers, accessories for ceremonial dress, an indicator of social status, a symbol of heroism, etc."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage


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Keris of Gowa, South Sulawesi form the collection in Museum Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta. A matching kris stamp with two other nice stamps used. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia.

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Javanese Keris of Indonesia. Thanks to Connie of Indonesia.

Indonesia - Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi

"Pinisi, or the Art of Boatbuilding in South Sulawesi, refers to the rig and sail of the famed ‘Sulawesi schooner’. The construction and deployment of such vessels stand in the millennia-long tradition of Austronesian boatbuilding and navigation that has brought forth a broad variety of sophisticated watercrafts. For both the Indonesian and the international public, Pinisi has become the epitome of the Archipelago’s indigenous sailing craft. Today, the centres of boatbuilding are located at Tana Beru, Bira and Batu Licin, where about 70 per cent of the population make a living through work related to boatbuilding and navigation. Shipbuilding and sailing are not only the communities’ economic mainstay, however, but also the central focus of daily life and identity. The reciprocal cooperation between the communities of shipwrights and their relations with their customers strengthen mutual understanding between the parties involved. Knowledge and skills related to the element are passed down from generation to generation within the family circle, as well as to individuals outside of the family through the division of labour. The communities, groups and individuals concerned are actively involved in safeguarding efforts, for example through marketing initiatives and the publication of books on the subject."

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage


Pinisi is the art of boat building in Sulawesi island, southern section. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia for this amazing postcard using nice stamps.

Indonesia - The Wayang Puppet Theatre

"Renowned for its elaborate puppets and complex musical styles, this ancient form of storytelling originated on the Indonesian island of Java. For ten centuries wayang flourished at the royal courts of Java and Bali as well as in rural areas. Wayang has spread to other islands (Lombok, Madura, Sumatra and Borneo) where various local performance styles and musical accompaniments have developed..." Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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The shadow play or Wayang Kulit of Java employs delicately carved and painted puppets. Nice stamps of Wayang kulit, Wayang Godek and special embossed stamp of Gunungan used. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia.

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"Wayang Kulit" is the traditional puppet show using leather cut-out figures with music and dialogue provided in the background and the artist movement of the puppets across the screen. Great stamps of the Year of Rat. Thanks to Agatha of Solo, Java, Indonesia.

Indonesia - Saman Dance -

"The Saman dance is part of the cultural heritage of the Gayo people of Aceh province in Sumatra. Boys and young men perform the Saman sitting on their heels or kneeling in tight rows. Each wears a black costume embroidered with colourful Gayo motifs symbolizing nature and noble values. The leader sits in the middle of the row and leads the singing of verses, mostly in the Gayo language. These offer guidance and can be religious, romantic or humorous in tone. Dancers clap their hands, slap their chests, thighs and the ground, click their fingers, and sway and twist their bodies and heads in time with the shifting rhythm – in unison or alternating with the moves of opposing dancers. These movements symbolize the daily lives of the Gayo people and their natural environment. The Saman is performed to celebrate national and religious holidays, cementing relationships between village groups who invite each other for performances. The frequency of Saman performances and its transmission are decreasing, however. Many leaders with knowledge of the Saman are now elderly and without successors. Other forms of entertainment and new games are replacing informal transmission, and many young people now emigrate to further their education. Lack of funds is also a constraint, as Saman costumes and performances involve considerable expense." Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Saman Dance of Dance of a Thousand Hands is normally performed to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. Nice matching stamp of this Indonesia intangible cultural heritage and stamp of Turkey intangible cultural heritage used. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia.

Indonesia - Indonesian Angklung

"Angklung is an Indonesian musical instrument consisting of two to four bamboo tubes suspended in a bamboo frame, bound with rattan cords. The tubes are carefully whittled and cut by a master craftsperson to produce certain notes when the bamboo frame is shaken or tapped. Each Angklung produces a single note or chord, so several players must collaborate in order to play melodies. Traditional Angklungs use the pentatonic scale, but in 1938 musician Daeng Soetigna introduced Angklungs using the diatonic scale; these are known as angklung padaeng. The Angklung is closely related to traditional customs, arts and cultural identity in Indonesia, played during ceremonies such as rice planting, harvest and circumcision. The special black bamboo for the Angklung is harvested during the two weeks a year when the cicadas sing, and is cut at least three segments above the ground, to ensure the root continues to propagate. Angklung education is transmitted orally from generation to generation, and increasingly in educational institutions. Because of the collaborative nature of Angklung music, playing promotes cooperation and mutual respect among the players, along with discipline, responsibility, concentration, development of imagination and memory, as well as artistic and musical feelings." 

Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Two nice postcards of Indonesian Angklung from Saung Angklung Udjo - a place to study angklung in Bandung, Java, Indonesia. Thanks to Shinta of Indonesia for both postcards sent with beautiful stamps including angklung stamp. Postmarked January 24, 2011 and arrived in Penang on February 1, 2011.

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