Duna people
The Duna are an indigenous people of Papua New Guinea who live in the north-western area of the Southern Highlands Province. They number approximately 11,000 or 25,000
Society
Duna is the native language of the polysemically named Duna people. Their environment lies in a mountainous terrain with altitudes ranging from 400 to 3000 meters. With an even distribution of rainfall and temperatures, the environment allows farming and some tree cultivation. This is why most Duna are substance farmers with sweet potatoes being the staple food, alongside other gardened fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, they keep domesticated pigs and trap fish in Lake Kopiago while also hunting smaller game such as possums, bats and smaller birds. The diet also includes gathered mushrooms, ferns and cresses.The Duna are grouped in clans and parishes. Each member shares extensive responsibilities, requiring a substantial social effort for the group. Before the first direct contact with Europeans around the 1930s, their culture involved a strict separation of males and females. Early on, boys are separately raised and trained into manhood. Other significant themes of pre-contact life include ordered warfare, courting and the potency of ritual sacrifice. Since the establishment of a government station in the 1950s by Australia, the customs and traditions have undergone some significant changes, community schooling etc.