More than just a bag, the noken is a part of the identity of 250 tribes of West Papua. In his book Cermin Noken Papua (Reflections on the Noken of Papua), Titus Pekei, an activist who has worked to preserve the noken, explains that Papuans have many different names for the bag. For the purposes of his research, Titus went with 'noken' because nearly every tribe uses the word.

Traditionally, Papuan children are taught to weave and knit the noken at