Encounters with the Dani

In 1961, the anthropologist Robert Gardner traveled to Irian Jaya (now known as West Papua) to live among the Dani of the Baliem Valley for six months and make a film about their ways of life. At the time of Gardner’s trip, the Dani were an isolated people, with little to no contact with the outside world, aside from Christian missionaries and scattered encounters. During his six months in the Baliem Valley, Gardner produced a book and the iconic anthropological film, "Dead Birds."The journey that led to the making of this project began when I first traveled to the Baliem Valley with Robert Gardner, on his return visit to the Dani in 1988. A small team, including my partner Dick Rogers, and cinematographer Robert Fulton, set out to find Bob’s old friends Pua, Weyak, and Kurelu, who were central to his 1964 film "Dead Birds." We wanted to record what we could of the changes that had occurred in the valley since the film was made. However, it was not until our follow-up trip in 1996 that I personally felt the enormity of the impact time had revealed.

-SM