If you want to learn about the Dani Tribe - indigenous
people of Western New Guinea, this page contains lots
of useful information, including how they are affected
by the actions of humans from outside their environment.
The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated
with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the
central highlands of Western New Guinea (the Indonesian
province of Papua, comprising the larger Eastern part
of the former province Irian Jaya). They are one of the
most populous tribes in the highlands, and are found spread
out through the highlands.
The Dani are one of the most well-known ethnic groups
in Papua, due to the relatively numerous tourists who
visit the Baliem Valley area where they predominate.
Language
Linguists identify at least four sub-groupings of Dani:
Lower-Grand Valley Dani (20,000 speakers)
Mid-Grand Valley Dani (50,000 speakers)
Upper-Grand Valley Dani (20,000 speakers)
and the Western Dani (180,000 speakers)
The Dani language differentiate only two basic colours,
mili for cool/dark shades such as blue, green, and black,
and mola for warm/light colours such as red, yellow, and
white. This trait makes it an interesting field of research
for language psychologists, e.g. Eleanor Rosch, eager
to know whether there is a link between way of thought
and language.
Culture
The pig features very strongly in their local culture,
being the most important tool used in bartering, especially
in dowries. Likewise pig feasts are extremely important
to celebrate events communally, the success of a feast,
and that of a village "Big Man" (man of influence) or
organiser, is often gauged by the number of pigs slaughtered.
The Dani have a preferred method of cooking pig, and
other staple crops such as sweet potato, banana, and cassava.
They heat some stones in a fire until they are extremely
hot, then wrap cuts of meat and pieces of sweet potato
or banana inside banana leaves. The food package is then
lowered into a pit which has been lined with some of the
hot stones described above, the remaining hot stones are
then placed on top, and the pit is covered in grass and
a cover to keep steam in. After a couple of hours of broiling,
the pile is opened and food is removed from the pile and
eaten.
Ritual small-scale warfare between rival villages is
integral to traditional Dani culture, with much time spent
preparing weapons, engaging in both mock and real battle,
and treating any resulting injuries. Typically the emphasis
in battle is to insult the enemy and wound or kill token
victims, as opposed to capturing territory or property
or vanquishing the enemy village.
Changes in the Dani way of life over the past century
are tied to the encroachment of modernity and globalization,
despite tourist brochures describing trekking in the highlands
with people from the 'stone age'. Observers have noted
that pro-independence and anti-Indonesian sentiment tends
to run higher in highland areas than for other areas of
Papua. There are cases of abuses where Dani and other
Papuans have been shot and/or imprisoned trying to raise
the flag of West Papua, the Morning Star.
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