The Dani people have a population over 220,000 people. From this population, around 100,000 of the Dani live in the grand Baliem valley. The rest of the population, around 120,000, live in the north, south, and west sides of West Papua. In West Papua, the Dani are one of the most populated tribes.
Most of the Dani are divided into two patrilineal moieties, the Wida or Waija (especially in the grand Baliem Valley). During marriage, the men have to marry a woman from the different tribe. Due to the marriage and cultural patterns of the Dani, the Dani have a relatively a small population growth rate.
Andersen, Øystein Lund
2011 The Baliem Valley and Dani Culture West-Papua. Electronic document,
http://www.oysteinlundandersen.com/West-Papua/Baliem-valley/Baliem_valley_dani_tribe.html, accessed November 13
Wren, Paul
2004 The Grand Valley Dani: A Vanishing Culture in the Highlands of New Guinea. Electronic document,
http://www.wannabe-anthropologist.com/wba_writing_dani.php, accessed November 14
I was surprised to learn that the Dani had a relatively large population, and in fact were on the largest tribes within West Papua. From researching about the Dani, I was able to learn that Dani have split into respective region, with the largest region being the grand Baliem valley. The population density of the Dani, are similar to many societies in the world, where their is a larger density of population in one region, with smaller population regions nearby. Unlike many other societies, the Dani do not marry within their respective tribes (moieties), but rather marry people from the other tribes. This marriage pattern of the Dani, helps create a better unity within the different tribes of the Dani. However, this also limits the marriage pool within the community, which in turn, limits the population growth of the Dani.
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