Exploring the bonds of friendship in the Baliem valley

Text and photos by Rosa Widyawan

WAMENA, Irian Jaya (JP): Wasigini sigin mauwe Dogogin sigin mauwe/ watlasug wasigin mauweweneh at hiko-hiko uwe/ weneh at hiko-hiko uwe Yamana luk sigin oue/ Wamena la raike uwe Nowawiki weaka uwe/ Amua latike uwe.

Four youngsters, accompanied by four guitars and a mouth bamboo harp called pikon, chanted this poem monotonously. The lyrics express a yearning for Wamena.

For people in Tiom or Ubilik, visiting Wamena is an exciting experience. They walk three or four days across tropical forests to reach the only town in the middle of the grand Baliem valley. If they have enough money, they can get there by small plane or rented car. But even if they have the money, they often prefer to walk. This way, they can save money in order to watch movies, buy kretek cigarettes or stay longer in Wamena.

I was waiting for a taxi to drive me back to Wamena. It would be hard for me to go on foot, especially after walking six hours downhill from Tiom. A woman pinched her friend's bent index finger with her index and middle fingers, pulled it until it made an explosive sound, and said "La'uk!". This is their way of saying hello. The men will say "Kaonak!" and "Selamat Siang" to outsiders.

As I stood waiting for my taxi, my thoughts returned to all the things I had seen in Wamena.

In the nearby market, I saw people selling raw or baked hipere (sweet potato), corn, hom (taro) and el (cane sugar). They displayed their merchandise and covered it with dried grass to protect it from the sun. There were pigs and hogs sniffing around.

The Dani consider pigs the most important creatures besides humans. Pigs indicate wealth and social importance. A man who owns a large herd of pigs can run a polygamous household.

I felt much better here than during my thrilling flight to Wamena. After flying over Membramo River, crossing tropical forests, our plane passed by a gigantic cliff called the Baliem Gate. The plane seemed to fly low and close to the bluish rock wall. Although most passengers enjoyed the adventure, I was uneasy. Perhaps it was because our flight had been delayed due to bad weather, and I had to stay at a hotel in Sentani for two nights.

Wamena is more beautiful than I had imagined. Every house has a large yard. There is a choice of hotels, so you can choose the most appropriate. For local transport, you can hire a pedicab at Rp 1,000 per passenger. There are also bicycles, but taxis are available only at the airport.

There are many good restaurants in town. Try Udang Serak, steamed or fried fresh water lobsters served with vegetables. Alcoholic drinks are not available, because alcohol is against the law in this beautiful town.

What's most interesting about Wamena is its traditional market called Pasar Nayak. During the day it is like any ordinary market in Indonesia. But at night, people sell tobacco, betel nut, and snacks. Most locals are fond of chewing betel nut, the way Americans like chewing gum, and spit it out indiscriminately. Youngsters flock to the market, and at night the Pasar Nayak becomes a social gathering place.

In August there are many attractions for independence day. Most interesting is the War Festival. Before it begins, warriors cluster around the watchtower before approaching the battle lines. The war leaders talk to their warriors about the strategy. When the games begin, the groups shout and wave their plumes. They dart about, shooting arrows, as the audience cheers them on.

Another unique attraction is the pig race, which is a lot of fun. The race is different to other races, because the pigs follow the owners.

The Dani people believe in Kanekke, a pair of flat oval stones in which the spirit of their ancestors live. The male Kanekke is 70 cm long, and the female one is shorter. Kanekke reminds the Dani of their ancestor's promises. Another amulet is called hariken, which is a collection of pig jaws and tails slaughtered during a pig festival. The function of the hariken is to determine the day of the next Wam-mawe.

The ethnic groups of the grand Baliem valley have their own way of solving conflicts: battle. Every ethnic group has a traditional enemy, which is passed on to the children. Consequently, in school children of a particular ethnic group will be the enemy of another. So it is difficult to appoint a class captain.

The Jayawijaya authorities have taken steps to preserve the traditional battles of the Dani, by holding a battle festival every August. During the festival members of the tribes compete with each other and during such "battles", strategy and skills are important. Another effort is the establishment of the House of Customary Affairs where a leader, or Big Man, can discuss their conflicts.

The tribal leaders meet in the Silimo Adat, a convention complex near Wamena airport. In the silimo, a huge building built in local architecture stores the abwarek, the sacred tokens of the ethnic groups of Jayawijaya. These sacred materials are kept on the second floor. The first floor, where artefacts are displayed, is open to the public.

The authorities believe that by establishing the silimo, they can stop battles among the tribes because the source of dispute is often the abwarek.

The Dani people live in village compounds called sili. Men sleep and pass the day in a two-story round structure with a domed, thatch roof. In the middle of the house there is a fireplace. The house for women and children is called ebai. The rear quarter of the lower room is blocked up with boards to form a place for baby pigs or sick pigs which the women care for. In front of the women's house is a long structure called lese, or common cook house, located near the pigsty and banana yard. In the middle of the sili there is a courtyard for social functions.

There is a hearth in front of the houses. Cooking together is an important ritual for the people. Stones are heated up to steam food. A rock fire is made up with large logs set crosswise in the yard. The first layer of stones is laid down on the ground, then the logs are put down layer by layer and another layer of rods is laid over it.

Meanwhile, a hole is prepared. A layer of long grass is placed in the center of the pit, overlapping the edges and extending out a meter or so beyond the hole. This grass is eventually bunched over the top and used to wrap the steamed food.

When the stone is hot and the food assembled, the process of building up steam is begun. Long tongs are used to carry the hot rocks from the fire to the pit. Rocks, ferns, meat, and leaves are laid down in alternating layers. When the mass has been built up above ground level, the grass is flipped in, over the top, and the building of alternating layers continues. When this is finally finished, the grass is again flipped over the top of the bundle, the binding is continued up to the top, and perhaps a board or two is laid down on top to hold in the steak and keep off rain. The building of layers may take an hour and the steaming continues for another hour. After that the bundle is opened and the food is shared out.

The singing crowd at Pit River had gone. The youngsters seemed to have disappeared behind the hills. There was no taxi so I walked for three hours to Pike, the nearest airport.