The Dani people traditionally love in self-contained fenced compounds, with its own cooking house, men’s house, women’s house and pigsties.
A traditional house is circular, topped by a thatched dome-shaped roof.
The very first contact between Dani people and outsiders occurred in early 1910. In that year a mountain climbing expedition led by the Dutch explorer H. A Lorenz, tried to climb to the snow –covered to of Peak Trikora.
Peak Trikora lies just within the southern boundary of the Dani Speaking area, and several Dani visited the base camp of the explorers.
The Dani people live in the central Highlands of Irian Jaya, which is the eastern-most province of Indonesia. They are found in the valleys of the upper reaches of two major river systems, the Mamberamo, which flows north-west to the Pacific Ocean.
They are one of the most populous tribes in the highland, and are found spread out through the highlands.
They live simply off the land. Their staple diet consists of sweet potatoes and some meats such as birds, pigs and other small animals.
The Dani remain subsistence farmers who cultivate mostly sweet potatoes in gardens in the Baliem valley in West Papua, Indonesia.
Women continue to raise pigs, which men strategically exchange to promote their status and to strengthens their politically alliance.
Dani people in Indonesia
