When you want to get to know how a culture and society operates in a foreign land, visiting a market can be one of the ways to understand and integrate yourself in it.

Inside a market, not only can you find habits of a people but what really shapes them as a society and culture. The market gives you a rough picture of how people eat, how people interact, how they value time, society, and how they value their own culture.

In many south east asian societies, markets can roughly be divided into two, modern and traditional markets. When you’re someone like me with a little passion for ethnography, I much prefer visiting the traditional market, a much livelier version and a lot more raw than the modern market.

During my visit to Biak Numfor, we had the opportunity to check out some traditional markets that become the hub of life for people around the main island and its surrounding little islands.

So, let me take you to explore one of a kind experience that I had in Biak Numfor, especially around Bosnek market, a lively trading hub for fishermen, crafters and even farmers.

Bosnek Market, the hub of Biak Numfor’s commerce

At 6 AM sharp, as far as our eyes could gaze, long boats and skiffs started to find their way into the pier of Bosnek Market.

Some who have arrived have opened their stall and are ready for the day to welcome those other traders from the surrounding island.

We found ourselves sitting at a stall selling hot tea and some assorted rice to wait until the market became lively. With hot tea and coffee, we observed our surroundings, listening to accented Indonesian and people talking in the local language.

From where we were seated, we saw a long boat carrying some women and school age children about to dock near the pier. They didn’t look that happy but rather worried.

Once they reached their dock, they chatted with each other about the other boat that was drifting away from them. They wondered if they had any means of communication as at the time, the wind was a tad too strong.

They then unloaded their goods, carrying fresh fish and one in particular that caught our attention is this parrot fish that are protected legally and regulated. It seems that over here, this parrot fish is just another fish in the ocean that people like to consume.

As the day gets hotter, more people start to open their stalls and some are leaving because they have earned their keep. It was enough for them to go back to their island feeling content. But there’s one more stall that caught our attention, the local crafts and arts from Biak Numfor.

Black Coral’s Jewelries & Monel

In these waters, these black corals are called “wood” which even to me I thought was “wood”. Apparently, this black coral is a living organism shaping the reefs around them and carries deep significant values for people in Biak.

One lady told me that this is believed to protect us from dark energy and negative influences that might come to us. For decades,they also believe these corals carry spirits of their ancestors and a reminder of their ties to the ocean.

However, there’s also a jewelry piece called a monel, a bracelet made of iron and copper that is commonly worn by the people around here. While it is not priced because of its value, what made it matter for the people around is that this is a symbol of legacy and ties. It typically is being passed down through generations but also traded for a symbol of friendship. For a lot of people in Biak Numfor and around Papua, this piece is personal. It reminds them of a connection to which whoever gifted it to them.

We also check out another part of Bosnek market where people travel from all regions to trade here. . Their transportation is a state owned bus that only goes towards a short route around the island. Connectivity around here is still a challenge but that didn’t stop these people to earn their keep.

After we browsed and shopped at the market, we continued our journey to check out another market that is near the hilly area of Biak Numfor. There are quite a difference between the coastal market and the highlands of the area.

Around the highland area, the people typically sold fruits, sago and rooted vegetables rather than fish. The contrast can be quite seen from both and it’s pretty interesting that it also shows us what people typically consume in different areas of the coastal and lowland region.

Faidoma Central Market

Unlike Bosnek market, this one is a lot more organized with more modern shops and even an apothecary nearby. We were less like a ‘tourist’ but someone from instantion doing some market inspection with our boss leading the way to wherever she fancies.

Having to visit these markets gave me some interesting insights towards how Biak people led their life. One in particular is their laid-back lifestyle that they only live for the day rather than the future. For modern people, this might become an issue but they live in abundance so that whenever they needed money, they could simply fish and sell it to the market.

From my privileged point of view, their life is what I wanted. We don’t have to bother with a lot of complexities of modern life. We live just as is and our needs are minimal. While maybe that’s not ideal, I can’t help to wonder if they’ve felt like they are really blessed to live in such a place where abundance exists and they could just fish, gather, and barter if they wanted something.

Anyhow, see you in my next Eastbound Journey or you can read some of it here :

• Eastbound | Flavors of Papua
• Eastbound | Bosnik Beach & TETE Diving Point Biak Numfor
• Eastbound | Leaving Jayapura for Diver’s Paradise, Biak Island