The Dani, the Lani – Two West New Guinea Highlands Cultures

The Dani group, centered in the Baliem Valley, has long taken the world’s attention. It is by far the best-known ethnic group in West New Guinea, ever since its discovery by the aptly named American explorer Richard Archbold in 1938. While some Dutch groups had passed close by during previous nears, none had seen the valley itself with its high population of 50,000 to 100,000. The flat, fertile valley bottom was expertly farmed with irrigation and drainage in geometrically laid out fields of raised mounds that produced bumper crops of sweet potatoes. The Dani group was discovered when Archbold flew his hydroplane overhead and was suitably impressed by the gardens beautiful, orderly layout. He also saw some mysterious tall erections dispersed in several areas on the flat land.

These structures turned out to be watchtowers, ready to alert the nearby inhabitants of the approach of a hostile group. For large-scale warfare was the way of life in the Baliem. Divided into several large alliances, hostilities were never-ending, punctured by short periods of relative peace. After the Archbold Expedition left the valley, the next visitors were American Evangelical missionaries who landed on the Baliem River in their new hydroplane. They established a base there and began proselytizing a full two years before the Dutch opened their first post there. A few years later, an American filming expedition from Harvard University was able to film the daily life as well as some actual battles, fought with spears, bows and arrows. The film, Dead Birds, was screened to many audiences in the US and elsewhere.

The missionaries among the Dani were not very successful. This was in stark contrast with the Lani (also called Western Dani) who lived in the northernmost part of the Baliem Valley and spread far toward the east in West New Guinea’s central highlands. They had been successfully proselytized by American Evangelicals based in Enarotali, on the shore of Lake Paniai. The Lani had migrated from the east towards the west probably due to population pressures and thinly inhabited lands. They had not been satisfied by their traditional religion that did not provide material goods such as those enjoyed by the missionaries. After only a few years, they became Christians and burned their old fetiches to show their commitment to the new religion.

THE DANI

Preface                                                                                                                                                       i
Introduction                                                                                                                                           iii

1.  Baliem Valley:
The Mother of all Expeditions ……………………….1
2. WW II, then the first missionaries arrive …….11
3. The Harvard-Peabody expedition: 1961 ………19
4.  Material culture: stone tool,
weapons, and trade ……………………………………..27
5.  Kinship, moieties, and organization:
the clan, confederations, and alliances. ………..33
6.  Leadership and warfare ……………………………….39
7. Dani religion: ghosts and spirits ………………….51
8. The great pig feast marriages,
initiations, funerals ……………………………………..57
9.  Larry Naylor: changes in the Baliem ……………63
10.  Male-female differences and
new perspectives on women and children ……71
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………..85

THE LANI

Preface                                                                                                                 91
PART ONE : HISTORY AND EVOLUTION IN LANI SOCIETY
1. Introduction ………………………………………………..95
2. Recording history and culture ……………………103
3. Lani agriculture and crucial pigs ……………….111
4. Trade: stone blades and salt ……………………….117
5. First contacts with the modern world ………..123
6. First contacts with missionaries:
Ilaga and Pyramid ……………………………………..127
7. Bokondini and Karubaga missions …………….133
8. Roman Catholics at Ilaga …………………………..139
9. New lifestyles and cargo cult elements ……….145
10. Christianity evolves …………………………………..153

PART TWO: ELEMENTS OF TRADITIONAL LANI CULTURE
11. Myths and the world of spirits……………………163
12. Controlling the supernatural:
shaman, sorcerers, and witches …………………169
13. Social organization: lineages, clans,
confederacies and alliances ………………………..175
14. Leadership …………………………………………………183
15. Fighting: perspectives and causes ………………189
16. War and peace …………………………………………..195
17. Peace compensations …………………………………201
18. Extra-marital relations ………………………………207
19. Marriage ……………………………………………………213
20. Bridewealth and death payments ……………….219
21. Some similarities and differences:
the Lani and other highland groups …………..227
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………… 235