After buying some snacks for lunch, we set out with our
guide, Mack, who is a Yali tribesman from the hills outside the valley that as
recently as the 1970’s, would have been killed by the Dani tribe that inhabits
the main parts of the Baliem Valley. We learned that his father was a cannibal
warrior who had killed many men, had two wives, and still did not trust the
Dani. The Dani were known as the
fiercest fighters and headhunters in Papua, but they did not usually eat their
human victims, unlike most of the other tribes. Christian missionaries, first
American and then Dutch and other nationalities, came to the valley starting in
the 1950’s and were careful to avoid being killed. Since there was no road or practical way to
get to the valley, the first missionaries came by seaplane and landed in the
Baliem River, which must have been quite a trick because it is narrow and
curvy. The isolated Dani tribe and its
nearby rivals were still living in the Stone Age, did not have metal or
pottery, but used stone axes and weapons. The missionaries convinced the
various tribal leaders to believe in the Christian god, and also, very
importantly, to stop the tribal wars, often serving as peacemakers as well as
converters. Like in other places, many of the old aspects of religion and
culture remained the same, with tribal custom and animistic practices surviving
among those that had been converted.
Our first stop was to a traditional Dani village which
possessed the famous mummified remains of a great warrior chief that was
supposed to be several hundred years old, and which was carefully taken in and out
of his allocated dwelling as if he was still an honored elder in the village.
Not only was the mummy supposed to have supernatural powers that benefited the
village, but they made use of him by allowing tourists to view and photograph
him for $5 each, so the mummy had acquired a monetary power as well. A village
elder with a dour expression held the mummy from the back to keep him
comfortably sitting on his perch while we took his picture. If you look closely
you will see the mummy still has his “horim” (penis protector) on, as well
other warrior ornaments.
We then took pictures of Leslie with 10 or 12 villagers in
their traditional dress (or undress) after negotiating that deal for 50 cents
each, or $5 total.
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| Photo shop has provided some censorship~ long gourds provide modesty |
Then we noticed a poor old lady with a hopeful expression
who was standing quietly at the side wearing the traditional coir skirt, and
took her picture for 50 cents. We noticed she was missing the ends of several
fingers – this is because young girls have their little fingers amputated to
show mourning when a close relative dies.
This practice is forbidden but reportedly is still widespread, and we
saw many women with missing fingers.
We walked over to another nearby village, seeing more people in traditional dress, and then saw the beginning of a mock war by Dani warriors attacking below one of their traditional village watchtowers. We had to turn back because we learned that the four German tourists ahead of us (the only other Westerners we saw for the next two days) had paid for a private war demonstration and traditional feast with killing and preparation/cooking of a pig, and we were not invited to the ensuing 4-hour party.
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| Noken (net bag) worn with strap on head and traditional coir skirt |
We stopped at the local market to see what was availabe and saw for sale the Noken bags, local tobacco products, and warrior crowns made with endangered birds of paradise. The original noken bags were of thread made of from the inner bark of certain trees which is dried, shredded and then rolled into thread. The bags used to be colored with vegetable dyes but now are all synthetic string.
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| Dani Lookout Guard Tower - and MUD! |
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