From Houston to Sydney 2013

The Dani of

West Papua 2015

The last time I visited the Baliem Valley was in June 1989.  I was leading a study tour with just over 20 people for the Geographical Society of New South Wales, and the Baliem Valley visit was part of a larger itinerary that also included Papua New Guinea.

Back then, the Baliem Valley was in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya.  Nowadays, Irian Jaya has been split into two provinces – West Papua (which comprises the area known as the “Bird’s Head” on the far west of the island of New Guinea, and Papua, which consists of the rest of the western half of the island of New Guinea.  Somewhat confusingly, the provinces of West Papua and Papua are known collectively as the West Papua region.

The Baliem Valley is located in the central Highlands of Papua, and its largest town is Wamena with a population of about 60,000 people.  Wamena, which means “Place of the Pigs” was to be my base for the next five days, and its airstrip was thus my first destination.

When I visited last time, 26 years ago, we flew from Vanimo in Papua New Guinea to Irian Jaya’s coastal provincial capital, Jayapura, before connecting to a flight up to the Highlands.  Indeed, the 88 kilometre flight from Vanimo to Jayapura remains my shortest international flight, and the tiny three-engined Britten-Norman Trislander aircraft used on the flight have long since disappeared from the region.

This time, my flights into Wamena took a very different route.  I flew yesterday from Sydney to Denpasar in Bali on a new Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330-300, and after an 11 hour transit stop, I connected at 1:50 am this morning to a Garuda Boeing 737-800 for the five and a half hour trip to Jayapura, including a one hour transit stopover at Timika on the way.  I arrived in Jayapura on time at 8:30 am, and three hours later I was boarding the plane for my final leg to Wamena, a vintage Trigana Air Boeing 737-200.  At least it was a jet this time; 26 years ago my arrival into Wamena was on a Merpati Nusantara Fokker Friendship turboprop.

To say that the plane was ‘well travelled’ would be a severe understatement.  The particular plane I flew in (PK-YSD) was 34 years old, and this was the first time I had flown in a ‘200’ series Boeing 737 since 1997.   Let’s just say it was not in pristine condition, but it did get me into Wamena safely, which was the main task I had in mind for it today.

One of the main purposes of this trip was to engage in some field research to ascertain the changes in Dani culture and way of life since my previous visit in 1989.  As soon as we landed, one change was glaringly obvious.  The airport terminal that I had used in 1989 has been replaced by an open field.  This change was a bit sad, as the old terminal was a truly distinctive building, having been built to reflect traditional Dani honai, or grass huts (see the first photo under the map above).  Apparently, the ‘honai’ terminal burnt down in a fire four years ago, and a new terminal is now under construction.  In the meantime, the temporary terminal is a tin-roofed shed with no doors or walls, with a luggage collection station that is a dirt patch onto which the bags are unloaded as the passengers point to their bags while holding out their luggage tags from the crowded wire cage in which they must stand.  I’ll mark this down as my second “one star” airport for 2015 (the previous one being the considerably more elegant terminal in Tarawa, Kiribati – it has walls).

A short drive through the town of Wamena quickly revealed even more change.  Wamena has grown considerably from the small frontier town I had visited in 1989.  It now boasts a population of about 60,000 people, and it serves a region with a population of about 300,000.  Unlike 1989, it now has substantial shops, and even a shopping mall (a small one) and a couple of hotels.

I was keen to re-visit Wamena market, but the market I knew no longer exists.  Rather than parallel rows of tin-roofed open sheds, the site of the market I knew now holds a three storey high concrete and glass building.  A new, much larger market comprising parallel rows of open-sided sheds was established about 15 years ago towards the north-west edge of Wamena, and this is where villagers now bring their produce to sell.

The new market is just as colourful as the old one, and considerably more hygienic.  However, the biggest change I observed reflected what is perhaps the greatest change to the Dani culture that I have seen so far – the almost total abandonment of traditional dress.  The photos to the right show the market today.  To see what the market looked like in 1989, look at the first two photos in the bottom row of photos (under the planes) at the foot of this page.

Traditional Dani dress comprised very little clothing, just a koteka (penis sheath made from the gourd of a vine) for the men and a reed or grass skirt and noken (a string bag for carrying produce that is carried on the head) for the women.  In 1989, more than half the Dani people in the market were wearing traditional dress; today I saw just two old men in traditional dress.  Most Dani have now transitioned to Western clothing, and the change is almost universal in and around Wamena.  I have heard that some traditional clothing is still worn in outer villages, but even there it has become the exception.

In the 1980s, I recall the Indonesian Government trying to force Dani people to abandon their traditional clothing, but many Dani steadfastly refused on the grounds that their clothing was an important part of their identity.  I am told that the change of heart to adopt Western clothing was made by the Dani themselves, and it has been a gradual transition.  The women made the transition first, starting in the early 1990s, with the men following a decade or so later.  Apparently the incidence of skin diseases has also increased among the Dani who wear Western clothing as not everyone understands the need for washing clothes frequently.

Having explored the markets, it was time to go to my hotel.  By this stage I had met my local guide, Herriman, and we headed off along a rough, 20 kilometre long dirt road to the north of Wamena.  The hotel where I stayed last time (the Hotel Jayawijaya) no longer exists, and the hotel where I am staying this time (the extravagantly and very optimistically named ‘Baliem Valley Resort’) did not exist in 1989.  Designed to reflect a collection of honai, this German-Indonesian joint venture offers wonderful panoramic views across the Baliem Valley, but it has really deteriorated in the 15 years since it was built.  The floor boards on the balconies are rotting, the safety rails on the edges of the balconies are falling apart, and the roofs leak (but only when it is raining).  It really needs some significant maintenance, but it is hard to see this happening unless occupancy rates increase; I am in one of only two occupied rooms tonight.

On the other hand, the people running the hotel are fabulous – very helpful and friendly – and the hotel prides itself on employing 90% of its workforce (who are mostly Dani) from the immediate local area.  They provided me with lunch, which was tasty despite being no choice of what to eat (I was served fried rice topped with a fried egg, accompanied by prawn chips, followed by two pieces of fruit I have never seen before that resembled large passionfruit, but which tasted less acidic and more creamy).

Dinner also avoided the onerous chore of having to choose from a menu, being a set meal.  It began with a thick, bland, mucilaginous potato soup followed by what was described as “life from the river”.  I asked for clarification, and was told helpfully “the Baliem River”.  These organisms looked like large red scorpions, but I was assured later by the manager that they were a type of shrimp.  The “shrimp” were accompanied by rice and potato fries, and then on another large plate, a whopping helping of green beans, green spinach and cabbage.  The meal was finished off with some sliced pineapple.

When I booked the hotel, I understood that the hotel would only have electricity for six hours each evening, but upon arrival I was informed that the electricity now “works 24 hours per day when it is working” (!).  However, the fact that there is no internet and the mobile phone signals do not carry any data was enough to remind me that I am in one of the world’s most remote locations.  After all, I have seen that even the nomadic Toureg people in the Sahara Desert have mobile phone connections these days.

The weather forecast for the next five days – the duration of my visit – looks fairly poor for photo taking, with a 100% chance of rain every day.  However, the weather today has been okay, with long periods of dry (sunny or overcast) weather and just a few (very heavy) downpours of rain.  So far the rain hasn’t worried me too much; I think I am still in awe at the privilege of being in such a remarkable place.

Day 1 - Arrival in Wamena

Friday

10 April 2015