The Dani tribe, which originates from Central Papua to the Jayawijaya Mountains, has various traditions and culture which are continuously maintained and passed down from generation to generation. Starting from dance, clothes, traditional weapons, language, to traditional houses. One of the most famous traditional houses that comes from the Dani tribe and is known by many people is the Honai Traditional House. This traditional house is lived in by their family members. However, the Dani tribe has another traditional house which is specifically for the livestock they keep. The name of the traditional house is Wamai Traditional House or mostly of Dani’s tribe Called “Rumah Wamai.”
Livestock are considered important for the Dani tribe. One of the reasons is because they survive by breeding. So the Wamai House was created as a home for the livestock they keep. The name Rumah Wamai is taken from the word “Wam” which means pig, the livestock that is mostly kept by the Dani tribe. However, not only pigs are kept. There are other livestock such as cows, goats and chickens. Wamai House is not much different from the Honai House. Moreover, these two traditional houses were actually houses built by the same tribe. Based on the Dani tribe there is only a difference in use, but a more flexible form of design for the Wamai House than the Honai House. The reason is of course because it depends on the livestock being kept and also their numbers. The shape can be circular or elongated according to the needs of the farm animals being kept.
The Dani tribe is known as a tribe whose daily life is neatly structured so that it can continue to maintain its existence to this day. This is proven by how they give special treatment to livestock and make them into homes. In fact, the Dani tribe also builds other traditional houses according to their function and use. Honai is a house built by the Dani tribe and is intended for adult men. Meanwhile, for women, the Dani tribe built a traditional house called Rumah Ebei. Apart from that, there is another traditional house which is designated by the Dani tribe as a preparing food or kitchen, namely the traditional house called the Rumah Hunila.