The Damal or Damalme are a group of people living in the highlands of the

Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province () is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 25 July 2022 from the former eight western regencies of ...

province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They primarily live in Beoga Valley along the river of Beogong. The Damal people are closely related to the Delem people and the Amungme people living in the southern lowland region. Delem is an ethnic group reportedly descended from the Damal people,

Dani people The Dani (also spelled Ndani) are an ethnic group from the New Guinea Highlands, Central Highlands of Western New Guinea in Baliem Valley, Highland Papua, Indonesia. Around 100,000 people live in the Baliem Valley, consisting of representatives ...

, and . According to oral history, the Damal people came from a place called ''Mepingama'' in Baliem Valley, and then '' Kurima'' where they gathered, and ''Hitigima'' the place where they started creating '' Honai'' houses with thatched roofs. From Kurima the ancestors of many Papuan tribes including Damal traveled west and settled in Ilop which now are called Beoga and Ilaga. From their heartland in Beoga and Ilaga, some Damal moved to Jila, Alama, Bella, Tsinga, Hoeya, Tembagapura (Kampung Waa), Aroanop, Timika, and Agimuga.

Social structure

The Damal have a system of

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...

moieties, which split the society into 'Magaij' and 'Mom'. These split social groups have equal standing politically and are only for marriage. People from the same social group cannot marry each other and have to marry people from the other social group. Each moiety is made up of patrilineal clans (same family name), with 37 clans in Beoga district and another 8 clans in Ilaga district. Each clan is made up of smaller patrilineal groups which will help each other in supplying for travel, paying dowries, and other expenses. Politically, Damal is led by ''Nagawan''/''Nagwan'', which is not limited to certain groups or inherited positions. However, they have responsibilities to be good with finances such as operating plantations, pig farms, and ''bia'' (shell) trade to pay for dowry and compensations for loss in tribal wars. They are expected to be ''alapme'' (charitable) and organise festivals for the people as well as have good oratory skills and be brave to lead the war.

References

{{reflist Ethnic groups in Indonesia