JAKARTA, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A festival showcasing tradition and daily life of indigenous tribes in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua is scheduled to resume on Aug. 8-11 in the province's Jayawijaya regency.
The festival which initially started in 1989, called Baliem Valley Festival, would be held in greater events this year compared to those in the previous years, Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said.
"Come to the Baliem Valley Festival, the event would enable you to see the Papuan tribes' unique cultural and traditions since hundreds of years ago, and feel the province's natural beauty," the minister said.
During the festival themed "Art of Dance and War" held in the regency's capital of Wamena, visitors would see the tribal war attraction between tribes in the province, including its traditional rites and traditional dancing performed by performers from each of the tribe, he added.
The minister's deputy for domestic tourism development Esthy Reko Astuti said various tribes around the regency, among others the Dani, Yali and Lani tribes, would send their cultural teams to take part in the event.
Esthy said the festival would also feature several traditional tribal dances related to the tribal war attraction that resemble fertility and prosperity.
Besides the traditional dance, the festival would also include archery and spear competitions, demonstration of traditional cookery, pig racing, theatrical performance, local Sikoko and Puradaan games and the display of local mummies.
The mummies were of the bodies of Papuan tribal chiefs and respected figures, embalmed by Papuan tribes with their own traditional methods.
