Life in Most Remote Region of the World: Dani Tribe's War Ceremony & Rituals as Amputates of Women Fingers
The Dani tribe live mostly in the area of the Baliem Valley, which is located in the highlands of Western New Guinea the Indonesian province of Papua.
Every August the Dani wage mock battles with neighbouring tribes - the Lani and Yali peoples - to celebrate the fertility and welfare of the Papua province as well as upholding ancient traditions.
The men can be seen sporting distinctive tribal attire, including face paint, feathers, animal bones and intricate penis sheaths named Koteka. The women wear skirts made from woven orchid fibres decorated with straw and woven bags, worn from the head, named 'noken'.
Other images show the tribe playing with an ancient instrument named a pikon, which along Papuan singing and chanting forms the soundtrack to the battle.
After the battle, there is customary dancing and music of Papua, rattan spear throwing and games, pig racing, earth cooking and the celebratory roast pig feast.
This year the festival was held on the 8-10th of August in Wamena, Walesi Sub-district, Jayawijaya District, Papua, with some 200 foreign tourists watching 300 dancers.
Contact with the Dani tribe was made in the beginning of the 20th century. There were multiple expeditions; one important one was called the New Guinea expedition, where in October 1920, Dutch explorers stayed with the Dani in the area now known as Toli Valley. Another important discovery happened in 1938 by air – Richard Archbold discovered the Dani of the Grand Valley by airplane during his third expedition in April/May that year.
The Dani tribe have some interesting customs. One of which involves funeral ceremonies. When a family member dies, all related females voluntarily cut off part of a finger as a way of showing their grief. This was done using a special cutting tool, after which the severed portion of the finger was burned to ashes, which were then stored in a special place.
The Dani tribe practice warfare rituals which involve both mock battles and real ones. In 1963, Tom Bozeman, a missionary, visited the tribe and described what he saw:
Every August the Dani wage mock battles with neighbouring tribes - the Lani and Yali peoples - to celebrate the fertility and welfare of the Papua province as well as upholding ancient traditions.
The men can be seen sporting distinctive tribal attire, including face paint, feathers, animal bones and intricate penis sheaths named Koteka. The women wear skirts made from woven orchid fibres decorated with straw and woven bags, worn from the head, named 'noken'.
Other images show the tribe playing with an ancient instrument named a pikon, which along Papuan singing and chanting forms the soundtrack to the battle.
After the battle, there is customary dancing and music of Papua, rattan spear throwing and games, pig racing, earth cooking and the celebratory roast pig feast.
This year the festival was held on the 8-10th of August in Wamena, Walesi Sub-district, Jayawijaya District, Papua, with some 200 foreign tourists watching 300 dancers.
Contact with the Dani tribe was made in the beginning of the 20th century. There were multiple expeditions; one important one was called the New Guinea expedition, where in October 1920, Dutch explorers stayed with the Dani in the area now known as Toli Valley. Another important discovery happened in 1938 by air – Richard Archbold discovered the Dani of the Grand Valley by airplane during his third expedition in April/May that year.
The Dani tribe have some interesting customs. One of which involves funeral ceremonies. When a family member dies, all related females voluntarily cut off part of a finger as a way of showing their grief. This was done using a special cutting tool, after which the severed portion of the finger was burned to ashes, which were then stored in a special place.
The Dani tribe practice warfare rituals which involve both mock battles and real ones. In 1963, Tom Bozeman, a missionary, visited the tribe and described what he saw:
'The Danis were always involved in battles and men were being wounded and killed so often, it had become a part of our lives. I remember the Sunday afternoon, though, when some of the villagers living near us dropped by our station after a big battle. I asked them how the battle had gone. They replied, ‘Great! We killed a fellow, speared him right through the heart. He dropped dead and the enemy left him where he fell as they retreated. So we grabbed his body and hid it. Tomorrow we’re going to have a big feast. We want you to come and see it.’
When the town of Wamena was built (only urban area in the Valley), this brought modern structures, economies and societies into the Dani homeland. The Dani sell their handicraft, receiving rupiah in exchange, but with Papua having highest prices in Indonesia the Dani still remain poor.
Music: 'Artifact' Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
When the town of Wamena was built (only urban area in the Valley), this brought modern structures, economies and societies into the Dani homeland. The Dani sell their handicraft, receiving rupiah in exchange, but with Papua having highest prices in Indonesia the Dani still remain poor.
Music: 'Artifact' Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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