Villager showing the mummy of a former Dani chief in his village. Central Highlands, West Papua, Indonesia

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From RoamIndonesia: A morbidly curious traditional Dani custom is the practise of mummifying important tribesmen such as an elder, a chief or a great warrior. To the Dani, the mummified corpse represents a tangible link to their past, their ancestors and the spirits. The process of mummification begins by draining the body of blood, then hanging the body above a smoking fire in a special hut for around two years. Once the mummification process is a complete, a huge feast is held to celebrate.

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Size: 4000px × 6000px
Location: Central Highlands, Papua, Indonesia
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ancester, bert, black, chief, corpse, cultural, culture, custom, dani, de, elder, hut, male, man, mummify, mummy, person, portrait, ruiter, show, showing, smoked, thatched, tradition, traditional, travel, tribal, tribe, tribesman, vertical, warrior