Baliem Festival 2016: Tribes perform mock war in Indonesia's beautiful Papua highlands
Three-day celebration of the spirit, power and culture of tribes that have been practised for generations.
Tribes from Papua, the last frontier of Indonesia's remote province, are marking the 27th Baliem Festival, which see's tribes from the highlands of Womena and the Baliem Valley come together for three days of celebrations and dancing. The festival aims to introduce and preserve the values and culture of traditional tribes and to symbolise the high spirit and power that have been practised for generations.
Located in West Papua the festival holds a variety of performances such as traditional Papuan dance and traditional musical performances performed by tribes such as Yali, Lani and Dani. A mock war is also performed, allowing each tribe the chance to maintain the agility in order to defend their villages. The war is held over two days and see's roughly 26 groups of 30-50 warriors compete.
IBTimesUK presents some of the highlights from the festival so far:
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