The Dani tribe of Indonesia

The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua).

They are one of the most populous tribes in the highlands, and are found spread out through the highlands. The Dani are one of the most well-known ethnic groups in Papua, due to the relatively numerous tourists who visit the Baliem Valley area where they predominate. "Ndani" is the name given to the Baliem Valley people by the Moni people, and, while they don't call themselves Dani, they have been known as such since the 1926 Smithsonian Institution-Dutch Colonial Government expedition to New Guinea under Matthew Stirling who visited the Moni.

According to a report by Getty, the primitive tribe still live a very traditional existence due to the remoteness of their location, only reachable by plane. Situated at an altitude of 1,600m in the heart of the Cyclops Mountains, Wamena is the only town in the valley though it is estimated that 250,000 Dani live in the region, with the valley having one of the highest densities of population in Papua Province. The tribe were once famed as a head-hunting tribe and still demonstrate specific customs today, including the women cutting off segments of their fingers whenever a relative dies.