Asmaty

Main article: Western New Guinea

The Chitak, Land Asmat, and Avew tribes were one large family, but wars and territorial problems caused them to separate and form new tribes in their territories.

Territory

The Asmats live on the southern shore of Western New Guinea, in Asmat County, South Papua Province of Indonesia.

2012 Asmat County Map

Culture

Asamanam Philosophy - Balance of Life

Asamanam or balance (Joerat dialect) is the view of the Asmat people on life, which consists in maintaining its three components: the balance of relations with other people, ancestors, nature and God.

For the Asmatian people, this balance in relations is important, since they believe that it is a condition that today's life will proceed safely.

"Asmat people believe that balance in relationships creates harmony. Without balance, society itself will soon collapse, leaving only a broken and uncontrolled world, without any guarantees of survival, "wrote in 2002 Master Alphonse ^[1].

This philosophy can be represented ​​cherez symbols and stories that are immortalized in the form of carving and weaving.

Pillars of Bish

Bish is a ritual pillar created and used by the Asmat people of Southwest New Guinea. Such poles are also common in New Zealand and Vanuatu.

The Bish pillars were originally carved by Asmat (wow-ipit) religious carvers after a member of their tribe or community was killed during a bounty hunt conducted by an enemy tribe. Asmat participated in raids for the purpose of bounty hunting and ritual cannibalism.

The Asmatians believed that if a member of the community was hunted to cut off his head, then his spirit lingered in the village and caused disharmony. When death occurs in the community, it threatens the spiritual peace in which the Asmata believe. The pillars of Bish were erected in order to calm these spirits and send them to the afterlife (Safan) abroad.

To avenge their dead, members of the community staged a retaliatory bounty hunt on an enemy village.

The pillars were part of a "bish pokumbu" ceremony during which villagers paid final tribute to recently deceased members of the community and promised to avenge their deaths. On the day of the ritual, poles were installed near the men's house. Warriors in the village staged comic fights to show their valor and readiness to avenge the deceased relative. And one of the main points was shouting the names of the dead.

Bish poles often had a nest at the base, designed for severed heads of enemies. The pillar was also coated with blood as a sign of revenge.

After the ritual is over, the Bish pillar is cut into pieces and carried outside the village in the slaughter of sag palms so that the supernatural life-giving power of these ritual objects, according to Asmatian beliefs, contributes to a good harvest.

The headhunting tradition no longer exists as it ceased in the 1970s, but the Bish tradition of pillars and rituals continues to this day as a custom to honor the deceased villagers.

The images on each pillar vary, but they are usually associated with ancestral images. The figures of the dead are located along the pillar, and it depicts the phallus, a symbol of fertility and strength. Phallic symbols represented the strength and masculinity of the ancestors of the community, as well as warriors who went on a bounty hunt. The human figures depicted on the poles symbolized the dead ancestors. Canoe nose symbols symbolized a metaphorical boat that was supposed to carry dead spirits into the afterlife.

Bish pillars carved from a single piece of wild mangrove tree can reach a height of 7.62 m.

Notes