More than a string bag: scholar elevates Muyu knowledge through noken

Dr Veronika Triariyani Kanem crossed the graduation stage on 24 September, marking the culmination of an extraordinary doctoral journey woven from Indigenous knowledge, community relationships and the cultural significance of the noken string bag.

Originally from the Muyu region of South Papua, in West Papua, Dr Kanem's PhD research explores the cultural, environmental and social significance of noken, traditional string bags handcrafted by Muyu people and deeply embedded in everyday life, ceremony and identity. Her work has helped bring international attention to the knowledge systems, stories and values carried within the woven bags.

Her doctoral research drew on oral histories, community knowledge, ethnographic research and cultural practice, centring the voices and experiences of Muyu people. Through the weaving traditions surrounding noken, Kanem examined how Indigenous knowledge is transmitted across generations and how communities maintain cultural continuity amid rapid social and environmental change.

She paid a special tribute to her late mother who died earlier this year.

“I would really like to acknowledge my family, especially my late mother, who passed away earlier this year. She has been a great source of support throughout this long journey, and I would like to honour and acknowledge the love and support she gave me along the way.”

Woven knowledge, woven lives

When Kanem began researching noken, she was documenting far more than a cultural artefact.

Across West Papua, noken are used to carry food, books, babies and treasured possessions. They are present at births, marriages, engagements and community ceremonies, and are widely regarded as symbols of prosperity, womanhood, kinship and connection to the land.

For many Indigenous Papuans, noken embody a way of life.

"Noken carry our stories, our identity and our relationships," says Kanem. "They connect generations of knowledge and remind us that culture is something we live every day."

Her doctoral research builds on years of examining the role of noken in Indigenous cultural identity and the specialised knowledge held by Papuan women. Earlier research by Kanem explored how environmental change and deforestation threaten access to the natural materials traditionally used to weave noken, potentially disrupting the transmission of cultural knowledge across generations.

"The future of noken is connected to the future of our environment," she says. "When we protect the forests, we protect the knowledge, relationships and histories woven into every noken."  

A noken weaving methodology

More than a study of material culture, Kanem's doctoral research developed what she describes as a "noken weaving methodology" – an Indigenous approach to research inspired by the interconnected ways noken are created, shared and used within Muyu communities.

“At first, I tried to fit my research within other Pacific methodologies, such as Tivaevae, Kakala, and Talanoa. Although we shared similar values, these methodologies did not fully resonate with the West Papuan context, particularly the Muyu context. Then, in the final year of my PhD, I realised that I needed to develop a methodology that was grounded in and relevant to the Muyu people’s worldview. That was when I developed the Noken Weaving Methodology.”

"Noken are not simply objects," says Kanem. "They hold our histories, our responsibilities and our relationships with land, forests and people. I wanted my methodology to reflect those same values of connection, reciprocity and care."

As her research evolved, Kanem developed a framework inspired by the values embedded within noken-making itself.

"Just as many threads are woven together to make a noken, knowledge is created collectively," she says. "A noken methodology recognises that research is relational. It comes from listening, reciprocity, community participation and respect for Indigenous knowledge holders."

The approach centres community voices and cultural practice, viewing knowledge not as something extracted from people, but as something shared and carried together. It reflects the collaborative processes through which noken are traditionally created, with knowledge and skills passed between generations through collective practice.

"For me, the noken became both the subject and the guide for my research," she says. "It showed me how knowledge is gathered, carried and shared collectively rather than individually."

Kanem believes Indigenous methodologies have an important place within universities and the wider research landscape.

"We do not have to leave our Indigenous ways of knowing at the university gate," she says. "Our communities carry valuable knowledge that can enrich research and create new ways of understanding the world."

From thesis to exhibition

The research has already generated significant impact beyond academia. Last year, Kanem co-curated the exhibition Noken/Men: String Bags of the Muyu Tribe of Southern West Papua with Lagi-Maama at the University of Auckland Library and celebrated the launch of an accompanying publication based on her doctoral work.

The exhibit highlighted noken as vessels of identity, ceremony and ecological connection while showcasing the artistry of Muyu makers.

It continues to travel across Aotearoa New Zealand, and with plans to extend the show at the Library space. A further exhibition was held at Auckland City Library, August 2025 to April 2026, and a third show took place at Canterbury University Central Library, 28 July to September 2nd 2026.

The works are also included in the Our Ocean of Islands exhibition at the New Zealand Maritime Museum from August 2026 until early 2028.

Kanem's supervisors, Yvonne Underhill-Sem and Mark Busse, have supported a research project that bridges Pacific studies, anthropology, Indigenous methodologies and cultural preservation.

Noken exhibition aims to connect West Papua to the Pacific Conservation and raise awareness of the ongoing environmental destruction in Southern West Papua, where 2.5 million hectares of Indigenous land have been allocated for the Food and Energy Estate, called the National Strategic Project, or PSN.

Beyond the PSN, the continued expansion of oil palm plantations by multinational corporations has further threatened Indigenous West Papuan ancestral lands and forests. These forests are not only vital to Indigenous communities and their livelihoods but are also where the natural materials traditionally used for weaving noken are gathered.

Graduating with a doctorate represents an important milestone for Kanem, not only for her academic career but also for her wider community.

"I feel excited, grateful and humbled. This achievement is not mine alone. It belongs to my family, my supervisors, my community and especially the people back home who entrusted me with their stories."

She hopes her research will contribute to greater understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and support cultural preservation efforts in West Papua.

"There is growing pressure on the forests that provide the materials for noken making. Protecting our knowledge means protecting our environment as well. The two cannot be separated."

For Kanem, the doctorate represents another thread in a much larger weave.

"Like a noken, this journey has been created through many hands. I carry those relationships with me as I graduate and wherever this work takes me next."