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

Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province ( id, Provinsi Papua Tengah) is an Indonesian province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 11 November 2022 from the former eight western regencie ...

province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. They primarily live in Beoga Valley along the river of Beogong. The Damal people are closely related with Delem people, and with Amungme people living in the southern lowland region. Delem is a people group descended from Damal people, Dani people, and Wonno people. According to oral history, Damal people came from a place called ''Mepingama'' in

Baliem Valley The Baliem Valley ( id, Lembah Baliem; also spelled Balim and sometimes known as the Grand Valley) is a valley of the Central Highlands in Western New Guinea. Specifically in Highland Papua, Indonesia, which is inhabited mainly by the Dani peopl ...

, and then '' Kurima'' where they gather, and ''Hitigima'' the place where they started creating ''Honai'' houses with thatched roof. From Kurima the ancestors of many papuan tribes including Damal travel west, settled in Ilop which now are called Beoga and Ilaga. From their heartland in Beoga and Ilaga, some Damal moved to Jila, Alama, Bella, Stinga, Hoeya, Tembagapura (Kampung Waa), Aroanop, Timika, and Agimuga.

Social structure

The Damal have a system of

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of 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 two groups ...

moieties, which split the society to '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 the people from the other social group. Each moiety is made up of patrilienal clans (same family name), with 37 clans in Beoga district and another 8 clans in Ilaga district. Each clans are made up of smaller patrilineal groups which will help each other in supplying for travel, pay dowries, and other expenses. Politically Damal are led by ''Nagawan''/''Nagwan'' which is not limited to certain groups or inherited positions, but they have responsibilities to be good with finances such as operating plantations, pig farms, ''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 brave to lead war.

References

{{reflist Ethnic groups in Indonesia