Wearing elaborate tribal clothing and decorations, this is the Indonesia’s rarely seen Dani tribe celebrating the 27th Baliem Valley Cultural Festival.
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.
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