The Dani are the indigenous people of the Baliem Valley in Irian Jaya, along with the Yali and Moni, they are the main tribes in and around the valley.
The Dani have been described as Stone Age people; when they were first ‘discovered’, the way they lived resembled how we imagine pre-historic man had once lived, sparking huge interest around the world.
Of course, it was inevitable that when modern society first set eyes upon the Dani, a change would ensue, and it has.
Undoubtedly changes have taken place that has brought the Dani people closer to this increasingly homogeneous present we call modernity.
Prior to contact with people other than their own, the Dani ware a basic agricultural, hunting and gathering society, who used tools made of wood, stone and bone.
They traded shells and plumes and their view of the world was limited.
The difficult nature of the physical environment had huge effects on the pace of change, keeping them in and others out, allowing the Valley Dani to retain their tribal ways for so long.
