Asmaty

Main article: Western New Guinea

Territory

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

As of 2025, most of these lands do not have land roads and numerous rivers serve as transport arteries.

12 Asmat Groups

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

For 2020, the number of asmats was estimated at 110 thousand people.

Asmat can be considered as a general term for twelve different ethnic subgroups, united by linguistic and cultural ties and a sense of common identity. These twelve Asmatian groups include:

• Joyrat,
• Emari Doucoure,
• Bismam,
• Bechembub,
• Simai,
• Kenekap,
• Unir Siran,
• Unir Epmak,
• Safan,
• Aramatak,
• Brush and
• Yupmakchain.

The situation is also complicated by the fact that these groups speak about five dialects (Casuarina-Coast-Asmat, Yaosakor-Asmat, Central Asmat, Northern Asmat, Chitak). However, on some important level, these groups share a sense of identity and would most likely call themselves "Asmat."

Tools

[[Image:Нож из кости казуара асматы.jpg|840px|thumb|Нож из кости cassowary. Tribal ^[1] catalog^[2]

Food

Traditional Asmatian communities mainly consume starch extracted from sag palms, as well as fish and forest game.

Asmata saga palm bark is cut into thin slices, dried, fried and eaten.

The larvae of black palm weevils (Rhynchophorus bilineatus), which these insects deposit in sage palms, are considered a delicacy in New Guinea. The Asmat, Korovay and Kombay peoples also value larvae highly as a food source.

Adult weevils lay eggs in damaged parts of palm trunks. After hatching, the larvae make passages in the trunk and feed on the tissues of the tree, which often leads to the death of host plants. To start the process of breeding larvae, korovai cut down the saga palm and wait for the right time until the larvae, which will deposit insects in it, are ready for consumption in raw or processed form.

Matoa fruits grow in trees, they have a thin yellow-green shell, and inside there is a transparent white flesh.

Ju's Men's Houses

Construction

Jew, also known as the Bachelor House, is an Asmatian traditional house. Ju, also known by several other names such as Je, Jeu, Yeu, or Yai, is a rectangular wooden pile house.

The house is open only to single men; children under 10 years old and women are prohibited from entering.

Ju is always built with a facade to the river, often on the bends of the river, because in the past conflicts between ethnic groups were common. Building houses along the river, especially on bends, residents of men's houses could quickly detect enemy attacks.

For the construction of "Ju," iron wood is used because it is strong and resistant to water, especially marine.

The men's home can range in size from 30 to 60 metres long and 10 metres wide.

The walls and roof are assembled from poles and mats woven from the leaves of a saga palm or nipa palm. Rattan roots are used as connectors.

Walls, roof and floor are usually replaced every 5 years.

The number of doors in the men's house is equal to the number of foci and statues of mbis (ancestors), which also reflect the number of "tsem" or "tisem" (small family houses) in the Asmatian tribal community living around Ju. According to Asmatians, mbis statues, reaching 2.5 m in height, are able to drive away evil spirits from unmarried men in the house.

Functions of men's houses

Being a sacred home for the Asmat people, Ju has many functions. In addition to serving as housing for unmarried men, it is also a meeting place where disputes between villagers are resolved, traditional ceremonies, community meetings, peace agreements, wars, and traditional rituals are planned.

In addition, it is used as a repository for carvings of deceased ancestors or spirits. In the past, ju have also been used to store skulls, spirit boats (vooramon), spirit clothing (ifi or yipaver), bags (noken), war spears, war shields, drums (typhus), and other sacred objects.

A knocken is a bag of woven vegetable fibers that is used for storage and worn on the shoulder or back with a mount on the forehead. According to Asmatians, noken can cure a patient from various diseases, subject to certain rules and conditions. Another function of the men's house is to serve as a village club and a place for receiving guests.

Inside ju, young, unmarried men gain knowledge from older men, including harnessing the resources available in their environment through existing technology, skill development, drum playing, dancing and singing. In addition, they become acquainted with heroes of the myths of the Asmat people, such as Fumiripits, also known as the Great Bounty Hunter, who is considered the ancestor of the Asmats. In the past, they have also been taught to hunt their heads and hold traditional ceremonies.

In addition, young men are taught to carve on wood in accordance with the Asmat tradition. As a rule, only men are allowed to cut into wood, and they usually do not sketch when carving statues, because with the help of carving they can communicate with their ancestors in accordance with the concept of three worlds known to them (see below).

Other values that are still respected include the ban on extinguishing wayir (fire in the main focus in the center of the male house), the obligation to play the drum (typhus) and sing songs in the male house.

Ju also serves as a place to distribute respec funds (Respek) to families living around ju. Respec funds are budgetary assistance provided from the Indonesian budget.

Emak Jem is a ritual of ordination of boys

Asmatians believe that conception takes place in a different world. The spirit of the ancestor is instilled in the expectant mother, and the sex of the child depends on whether the man entered her or the woman. Each deceased relative gives life to one of the Asmatians.

If a girl is born, she is raised by women under 17. A boy under six lives with his mother, and then goes through a rite of initiation - initiation into men. After that, he grows under the supervision of other men.

Emak Jem is a dedication ritual or celebration for young Asmatians, especially youth from the Jorat clan.

Act of Pederasty

When it comes time for boys to transition from a society of women to a society of men, they must go through sexual intercourse with an adult man. This tradition is known not only among the Asmatians and Marinds, but also among other ethnic groups in New Guinea.

According to the views of the Asmatians, sperm has a power that, like earlier, women's milk, should strengthen the boy. Asmata call it "male milk."

In 1991, in her article "Pederasty among Primitive Peoples: Institutionalized Initiation and Cult Prostitution," Gisela Bleibtroy-Ehrenberg, Ph.D., ethnosociologist and publicist from Germany described two reasons for the use of sexual intercourse between an adult man and a boy during the initiation ceremony among the peoples of New Guinea.

The first reason, or complex of concepts, is that boys "will always be small" unless they pass through these pederastic rites. In other words, pederasty from young boys, according to the ideas of many peoples of New Guinea and Melanesia, makes large strong men. This is conceptualized in a rather specific form: the uninitiated will actually remain children, so they will be in this subordinate position all their lives, will not be able to marry and produce their own children, will not be suitable for soldiers. Novice initiates have a strong belief in it.

The second motive of pederastic practices during initiation is the almost universal belief in these regions that boys before initiation belong exclusively to their mothers. Thus, they are considered as part of the female population. In practice, this means that a small, not yet initiated boy is treated as a woman: he is allowed to take part in exclusively female rituals, perform female tasks without being ridiculed, have contact with ancestors especially revered by women. It all ends when he begins his initiation, a process that often lasts many years.

First, the new initiators are treated as if they were women. It is even believed that pederastic contact with them can lead to pregnancy, and sometimes when some internal diseases, such as helminthiasis, cause abnormal bloating, chalk is prescribed to cause an abortion.

People in these tribes believe that the main purpose of pederastic contacts is to fill with sperm. Sperm, according to their ideas, feeds the boy's still "female" body, which must now be transformed into the body of an adult warrior. Initially, the boy's body was created from the mother's body fluids: during pregnancy from her blood and later from her breast milk, which he feeds on for several years.

Parents approach with great care the choice of a suitable "godfather" for their son, that is, a person with a high reputation. Through this relationship, a close social connection is established between the "godfather" and the boy and his family, a connection best described by the word "intimacy." At the end of the initiation period, the "godfather" receives a gift of pork. A wealthy family may even give him a whole pig. The gift is a recognition of the fact that the man gave the boy his own physical strength in the form of sperm (in these regions, animal protein is quite scarce in food supplies). The gift of meat is compensation for this sacrifice.

During the initiation, the boy lives as a child in his godfather's house. There is no jealousy between the boy and the wife of the "godfather," she cares for him as if he were one of her own children. The "godson" must help his "godmother" in all respects: he collects firewood, helps cultivate the yam field, brings water, etc. At the same time, he becomes very close to his own children "godfather." From this point, he is considered the brother of these children: the marriage between him and one of the daughters will be considered incest and strictly taboo.

Since the "godfather" is responsible for the care and welfare of his godson during the initiation period, all parents try to find godfathers for their sons who have great prestige and who can thus improve the position of their sons in society.

Socially, the initiation represents the "rebirth" of a boy in the tribe. It is assumed that from the very beginning of the initiation period, he forgets everything that he heard, saw or in any way experienced as a child in close communication with his mother and other relatives.

There is a close friendship relationship between godfathers and godchildren; boys must obey the orders of godfathers; godfathers should instruct them on vital matters such as hunting, warfare, and religion. If one of the couple dies during initiation, the other mourns him as if he were a close relative. If death occurs during a battle or fight, the other is obliged to take revenge.

Ideally, godfathers come from the same group of newly initiated young men, on average aged 20-25, newly married.

In this case, we are dealing with an ancient view of life, the roots of which go back to the early history of mankind. Everywhere we see traces of the struggle to overcome the overgrowth of maternal cultural elements by paternalistic society.

Using the skull of a slain enemy

Previously, the Asmatians believed that the death of fellow tribesmen required revenge, so for each deceased, the Asmatians killed someone from the warring tribe and ate his body with the whole community. And the head of the murdered man was used for the ritual of initiation into men. The boy was left for three days in a man's house. He pinched the skull of the enemy between his legs and absorbed the spirit of the deceased through the genital organ^[5]. So evil was completely absorbed, and the boy, having accomplished his first feat, was courageous.

For 2020, the initiation was different. During the holiday, the boys are isolated from relatives, including siblings and mother, for about 3-4 months a yeu. There they are taught various skills for future life, either as heads of families, or as exemplary citizens of society in the future.

The boys wait for the day of the whuramon boat to arrive. Then they have to enter the river and lie belly on wooden figures. The boys then return to shore, and one of the men of the tribe carves some drawings on their bodies, usually spirits, depicted on the wuramon. From that moment on, the boy becomes a man, a real asmat.

Part of the ritual of ordaining ten-year-old Asmatian boys is shown in the 1961 documentary Sky Above Your Head and Dirt Under Your Feet.

Homosexuality in male homes

Traditionally, many Asmatian men practiced polygamy, marrying more than one woman. In many cases, men were expected to marry the wife of a deceased male relative so that the widow and orphans would not be left without protection and economic support.

Many Asmatians have previously had homosexual relationships. With wives and children, asmats can also have sexual partners in male homes, which is perceived as a kind of male brotherhood (mbai).

Asmatian homosexuality is discussed in Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, 2000.

Friendships that arise between young men in a man's home include helping each other through difficult times, sharing food, cigarettes, and so on. The most extreme form of such camaraderie (mbai) is the papish tradition, when after marriage they exchange wives for a certain number of nights accompanied by traditional holidays.

Probably, the influence of missionaries in the past few decades has reduced the prevalence of both mbai and papish.

Culture

Myths

According to legend, Asmatov was created by one of the first people on earth. His name was Fumeripitis. He was alone, perhaps the wife of this man ate a crocodile. Fumeripitis went into the forest and, out of boredom, carved figures of men and women from mangrove and iron trees, as well as a drum, which he called typhus. Then he began to beat typhus to cheer, and then the figures came to life and started dancing. So the asmata appeared.

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 ^[6].

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

Balance with the world of ancestral spirits

The view of life in asmats is unique. There are several interpretations of their cosmology.

According to the first (Yuven Biakai version), some Asmatians believe that the world is divided into three parts, namely,

• Asama Ou Kapinmi is a world where people live during their lifetime;
• Damir Ou Kapinmi is a world in which the spirits of people who have died and are still on the way to heaven. Spirits that are still in Damir Ou Kapinmi are believed to be the cause of disease, suffering, calamity and war.
• Safar or heaven is the last place where the spirits of the dead go.

According to the second treatment (Boniface Jakfu's version), some Asmatians believe that the world is divided into two parts, namely:

• Asamat ow capin mbi - the world in which people live,
• Juus ow is the spirit world.

The spirit world has damup, dat, kamor and the spirit jii ow/juus akat ow. Damup, dat and camor are believed to bring disease, suffering and death. Meanwhile, jii ow is considered a kind spirit that brings fertility, victory, peace, etc.

Ancestral spirits settle in trees. The worst are the Osbopans. During their lifetime, they were villains and did not change after death: they send misfortunes. More Asmatians pursue dambin-ou, the spirits of ancestors who did not die their deaths. These spirits avenge living descendants for murder. And there are spirits of people who have recently passed away and want to take the rest with them. Until they are taken, they will not go to the afterlife of Safar. When they hunt for the souls of fellow countrymen, the village is covered with ailments and pestilence.

To maintain a balanced relationship with the spirit world, asmata use art. Through carving, weaving, and traditional feasts with feasts, the Asmat people reconnect with ancestral spirits so that a balance of relations between the living and the dead can be created. In doing so, the Asmat people believe that these spirits will save them and guarantee a safe life.

Balance with nature

Nature is of great importance in the life of Asmatians.

Nature, in this case the forest, village, river and surrounding area, is a sacred site for the Asmatians. All animals, plants, stones, whirlpools, etc., which exist in this universe, according to the Asmatians, have a camor (spirit in the Jorat dialect). Asmatians are very afraid of camors, because if the balance of life with nature is not maintained properly, camor will have a bad effect on people, such as natural disasters, suffering, illness, death, etc.

For Asmatians, nature is also identified with the mother, who is the source of life, security and peace.

Asmatians identify with trees. For them, their legs are like the roots of a tree, their bodies are like the trunk of a tree, their hands are like the branches or branches of a tree, and their heads are like the fruits of this tree.

Some parts of the forest are sacred for asmats. Deforestation is thought to be taboo. There are rules that prohibit people from engaging in various activities in the depths of the forest. Violation of these rules can lead to disasters in the village and even cause "difficulty breathing" if they do not pay fines in accordance with the rules established by each elder.

Balance with Ju Vir - the sun as the ultimate entity

Before the advent of Christianity in the 20th century, the Asmats believed that the highest essence in the universe was Ju Vir or the sun (in the Kinok dialect).

In Asmat art, this balancing attitude can be seen in carved and woven symbols such as the sun, stars, moon, and others that reflect the belief of the Asmat people in the extraordinary power emanating from this higher essence.

When Christian missionaries came to the land of Asmat in 1953, they tried to present the teachings of Christianity as a reality that was close to them, and not just as an external product that was unfamiliar and far from their life experience. In some places, such as the parish of Savva Erma, an attempt to combine two elements - custom and Christianity - into one is very noticeable at the beginning of the 21st century.

Although they are well acquainted with the Gospel, in some places the relations of the Asmatian people with Ju Vir are the same as with God, as well as with Christ as an older brother.

Balance in relationships with other people

The Imu/Wu Kus/Sespar/An/Imu Aramat/Jimi Pir feasts are a sequence of feasts dedicated to friendship that maintains the balance of life with other people.

The "An Tu" is a stage of celebration, with friends exchanging maggot tree larvae, which are placed in a special traditional plate made from young sago tree leaves.

Bounty hunting and cannibalism

Headhunting was an important element of the Asmatian culture, which according to some reports persisted into the 1990s. It was believed that the death of an adult, even from illness, was caused by the enemy, and relatives sought to cut off his head in an endless cycle of revenge and propitiation of ancestors. Heads were thought to be necessary for rituals during which boys were initiated into adulthood. Cannibalism was a companion feature of rituals that followed the severing of heads.

Bish pillars - a means of calming the spirits of the dead for their transition to safan

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.

[[Image:Столбы Биш асматов.jpg|840px|thumb|Vertically carved canoes are visible at the base of the pillars. Asmata Museum, Agats, Fr. New Guinea, Indonesia]]

Bish (bis) translates to "ancestor."

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 also participated in raids for the purpose of bounty hunting and ritual cannibalism.

Among the Asmatians and related peoples, getting rid of the dead was a lengthy process involving ceremonies and violence, as well as burial. Death invariably occurred in battle or "because of witchcraft," and revenge involving sorties behind heads was necessary to enable the spirit of the deceased to find peace.

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.

Relatives erect pillars of bish (ancestors) 8 to 12 m high. Carved from whole trunks of mangrove trees, they are a multi-tiered sculpture consisting of several human figures located both in a sitting and standing position, which are placed on top of each other. Each figure is named after a particular deceased person. At the bottom of the trunk - sculptures of distant ancestors, at the top - recently departed. This is how the generational connection, the family tree, is depicted.

Bish poles are usually made outside of Ju men's houses, although sometimes they are also built in a separate Ju room called Etchavor.

On the day of remembrance of the deceased, the carvers, whose relatives left this world, go to make figures in a ritual house of iron wood, covered with sugar leaves. The house is called yeu. Inside there is nothing but tools for cutting kaue: bamboo knives, bones, shells. The craftsmen sit right on the floor - a flooring of bamboo stems, so they are closer to the ground, the roots. Asmats have no furniture at all, even in residential buildings.

The figures have openwork protrusions, often emanating from the pubic region of the uppermost figure, where they symbolize the phallus as the strength and masculinity of the ancestors of the community, as well as warriors who went on a bounty hunt. The pillars are painted white, representing the world of perfume, with red details.

Below is a boat and an oar, which is the means by which ancestors return to the spirit world.

On the day of the ritual, poles were installed near the men's house.

Lined up in rows, the warriors stood in front of the pole and vowed revenge on those responsible for the death.

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 the shouting of the names of the dead with a request to the ancestors to take the souls of those who had left for Safar.

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 ceremonies were completed, the wandering spirit could reach the kingdom of the dead by using the pole as a canoe.

Then the Bish pillar is cut into pieces (otherwise the spirit can return) and, accompanied by crying and dancing by women, carried outside the village into groves of sag palm trees. The lifeblood of the dead could now be transmitted alive through food that would be derived from sage palms.

In April 2025, TAdviser observed Bish pillars in a men's Asmatian house in a village on the banks of the Pulau River.

The lower jaws of the skulls of enemies were decorated with feathers, colored seeds and turned into female necklaces (a serious insult to enemies).

The headhunting tradition no longer exists as it ceased in the 1990s, but the Bish tradition of pillars and rituals continues to this day as a custom to honor the deceased villagers. The festival of Bisj Pokmbu is held only in coastal areas.

If the kaue did not help and the people continue to wither, the asmata knit mask dresses from the sagging ropes, completely covering the body and head, with slits for the eyes. The mask should in features remind the deceased, who will not go to Safar in any way. A man from the tribe puts on this outfit and temporarily reincarnates as a deceased. He goes around all the houses - says goodbye to the village. Then the inhabitants gather at the yeu and dance - see off the deceased. After that, the masked man hides in the jungle. And the spirit of the deceased asmata usually evaporates.

Well, if the masks did not work, there are spirits boats - vooramon. They don't have a bottom. And between the sides, wooden figures of creatures are inserted as transverse beams, which, according to the Asmatians, give life. This is, for example, a forest turtle (mbu): it lays so many eggs that asmats consider it a symbol of fertility. In addition to the mbu, tribesmen depict water spirits similar to humans (ezjo). They help not to drown. They name each of the figures after the deceased, whom they want to spend in Safar. The boat is lowered onto the river, and it floats away with the flow.

Jeevi - spirits of the dead return to the village to take part in the holiday

Perfume costumes are used by asmats at the Jivi ceremony (Jivi, perfume). It is designed to help people connect with their deceased ancestors. At this festival, spirits are shown as ancestors returning to the village to take part in festivities with the living before heading back to the spirit world.

Perfume costumes are made by men in remote parts of the forest.

As a rule, two types of perfume costumes are made for this holiday. The former show a deceased family member and may include two to twenty separate constituents.

The second type of perfume costume is made to show the figure of an orphan, as described in the myths of the Asmatian people.

In the emari dukur group, there is another kind of perfume costume to show an old woman who is also mentioned in asmata myths.

After the feast, the costumes are placed in a special place where they can rot under a banyan or saga palm. This ritual is believed to promote fertility in the forest and community. Trees are then considered sacred and are not cut down.

Boards

The Asmat war shield is one of the most artfully decorated items from the area - and one of the most collectible.

For Asmatian warriors, the decoration of the shield is much more important than its protective properties. It was used as a psychological weapon. The patterns are related to bounty hunting and were intended to instill paralyzing horror in the enemy and reverence in associates.

Stylized motifs used by artists include a mantis (which bites off a female's head during mating). Images of the flying fox (frugivorous bat) were also popular. Flying foxes are a symbol of headhunting, as they feed on fruit from trees, and asmata associate trees and fruit with body and head, respectively.

The shield is a highly valued property of the dong Asmat men.

Each shield is made of a single piece of root and bears the name of the ancestor, which is important to the owner. The spirits of these ancestors are believed to be associated with the shield, providing protection from various dangers, both physical and supernatural.

On the top of the shield surface, asmata often insert human figures and special symbols, such as, for example, stingray heads.

The earliest known shields were simply called Asmat shields, but they were subsequently divided into four categories. In 1995, this classification was expanded to cover twelve groups based on region, motif and character of decoration for 2025.

Drums

Traditional songs serve as a spiritual conduit for Asmatians to praise their ancestors and the universe. These songs are usually performed to the accompaniment of drums (typhus). This musical tradition serves not only an entertaining function, but also unites the community and is a means of strengthening the spiritual connection between members of the community. Drum playing and song performance is only allowed by selected men known as "em su vir" and "em su jeepit."

The asmata drum is made from a single piece of wood with a membrane of lizard skin attached with human blood and lime powder, and a tightly bound rattan.

Regional differences in the size and motifs of typhoid decoration reflect cultural diversity among the Asmat people. The longest drums are from Safan, while the shorter drums are found in the Emari Dukur band.

Oars

Asmat oars can be divided into two main categories: decorative oars, which are used by leaders, and ordinary oars, which are used for daily activities. Some oars are provided with ancestral figures believed to protect the wearer. The handles and crossbars are decorated with motifs typical of each region.

Blade sizes vary for children, women and men. Shoulder blades designed for children are smaller and shorter than those designed for adults, as they are more suitable for their small height and posture. Female shoulder blades tend to be shorter, as they are often used sitting. The men's shoulder blades, which are longer, are designed for standing rowing.

Canoe

It depends on the deceased ancestors whether the asmat will return from hunting alive. To shoot snakes and cassowaries, you often have to swim on swampy rivers that fill most of their jungle. Dangerous occupation. Crocodiles often attack along the way. For protection, they name each hunting boat after one of the dead, whom they want to remember, and wooden kaues of this deceased and his deceased ancestors are carved on its nose.

Outside, canoes are covered with white paint from crushed shells. It is a symbol of bones, of what remains after death. The inside of the canoe is red, the dye is made of clay. Color means blood, life. The hunter is always between life and death.

The Asmatian people believe that Ci Cimen represents the spirits of ancestors who will protect and protect everyone in the boat from troubles and shocks.

The Ci Cimen, or canoe nose, is a distinctive carving technique used by the Asmatian people to decorate the front and aft of their boats.

These carvings are usually created directly from a single log, thus becoming an integral part of the boat itself. However, some of them are made separately and subsequently attached to the bow of the vessel.

Groups where Ci Cimen's carving practice is carried out independently include Bacembub, Bismam, Joerat, Simai and Unir Sirau.

Carved boards

The inspiration for these carved panels can be traced back to the motifs found in traditional designs of boat noses, oars, shields and puputan. The carved panels were influenced by W. von Dongen MSC, who asked the Asmatians to carve the motifs on the boards provided to them.

Initially, panel carving was practiced exclusively by carvers from the villages of Sava, Er, Erma and Sona. Over time, carvers from the Unir Shirau region, including craftsmen from the villages of Comor, Yipaver, Munu, Bu and Agani, as well as other villages, began to carve out in the same style, a practice that continues by 2024.

The pit panels have a similar history, influenced by H. von Pei, MSC, a priest in Atzj Parish in 1960. Fascinated by the beauty of the Asmatian carving, von Pei, faced with the restrictions of bringing large carvings to Europe, encouraged carvers to create smaller pieces without compromising aesthetics. The panel with chandeliers has become a separate charming kind of carving.

Collections of Asmatian cultural objects in museums of the world

The Asmats are illustrious artists. When Western New Guinea was a colony of the Netherlands, most of the early works of art, such as shields, trophy heads and statues of ancestors, were sent to Dutch museums before World War II. One of the largest collections is collected at the National Museum of Cultures of the World (formerly the Tropical Museum) in Amsterdam.

Exhibits related to Asmatian culture are collected in museums in different countries, among which the most famous are from the collection of Michael K. Rockefeller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

One of the most extensive collections of Asmatian art can be found at the American Museum of Asmatian Art at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota (USA).

Much of the Asmatian art in Western collections was acquired only after World War II, when the area became more accessible.

Battle shields, spears, and cassowary bone daggers, as well as household utensils such as hourglass-shaped drums, dishes, and battle canoe-shaped bowls (for sago) are now produced in the worst quality for the commercial market. Standing male figures representing the original ancestor are carved for new male houses.

Illnesses, death, funeral

If one of the asmats is suddenly dumped by an ailment, his relatives fence the part of the house where this person lies with sagging branches, and they themselves stay away from him. After all, the patient can take the whole family with him to the afterlife. Brushwood should not be fed or treated. Only spirits can bring him back to life.

If the patient dies, it must be immediately taken out and put on a bamboo flooring. There the body will rest until it decomposes. The forest gave - the forest took. Some take the skull into the house and place it under their head instead of a pillow to feel a connection with their ancestors.

[[Image:Череп предка асмата.jpg|840px|thumb|Череп предка асмата, украшенный семенами и перьями cassowary. The first half of the 20th ^[10]

Some of the Asmatians allow a canoe with a deceased stream. And recently, asmats are increasingly burying relatives according to Christian customs.

The leader is a guide to the world of spirits, he knows how to communicate with them. He cannot be buried as mere mortals. Therefore, the relatives of the deceased build a hut - honai from the leaves of the saga palm tree, make a fire in it and smoke the body. So that the process is not interrupted, loved ones are obliged to maintain fire around the clock. After 30 days, the skin turns black, shrinks - a mummy forms. The Asmata place her on top of a nearby hill or mountain. There the spirit of the leader continues to protect them from evil.

Ero'are sculptures of deceased family members. The Asmata believe that these carvings preserve the spirit and traits of the person depicted. The style of each carver is reflected in the distinctive features and shape of the sculpture. Most statues depict female ancestors. The Asmats respect and love women, considering them a source of life for their community.

Statues of Asmatian ancestors are made of two types of wood: iron wood and ash. The former do not paint well, so it darkens over time. Ash sculptures are often painted with natural materials.

Economy

Tourism

By 2025, asmata have been hosting groups of tourists for several decades.

Often the main goal of travelers is to visit the forest sites of the Korovai people in the upper reaches of the Pulau River. The most convenient route to them was to follow through Decay Airport. But constant incidents involving the actions of local rebels (see Western New Guinea) force tourists to fly to Agats and swim to the cows through the lands of the Asmatians.

In villages near the rivers, visitors spend the night in men's houses under mosquito nets in the same room along with the local population. The tour guide pays for the stay.

The main tourist representation of the Asmatians is the surrounding of a boat with tourists several canoes with male Asmatians, who are dressed in traditional skirts over their shorts.

The bodies and faces of the greeters can be covered with river silt, heads decorated with cassowary feather dressings, and boats and spears with leaves.

With a rhythmic general cry, the boat of tourists is escorted to the shore, where they are met by dressed and half-naked women singing and performing a kind of dance to the sound of a drum.

For sale to tourists, before they leave, asmata bring knives from cassowary bone, bracelets from wild boar fangs, bows and arrows, spears, cassowary egg shells. Prices for these items for 2025 remained penny.

and [[Image:Асмат и нож казуара 2025.jpg|840px|thumb|Молодой Асмат с ножом из кости cassowary wearing a cassowary feather headdress during a tourist welcome ceremony, Pulau River, April 2025. Photo by TAdviser]]

In the shops in Agathes, you can buy carved wooden shields and sculpture.

Airlines may not accept long items for transportation, so the service of express sawing of long spears and oars is available at Timika Airport.

Agar or oud tree mining

As of 2025, asmats are engaged in the extraction of agar wood (it is also an aloe tree, eagle tree, gharwood or the Tree of the Gods, usually called oud (from the Arabic عود - rod, stick), which is fragrant, dark and resinous wood used to make incense, perfume and fine hand carving. Oud is mentioned in cosmetics under the aromatic names oud, oodh or aguru.

The agar tree is one of the most expensive timber species in the world, along with African blackwood, sandalwood, pink ivory and blackwood.

Agar tree forms in the core of "Aquilaria" trees after they become infected with the mold of "Phaeoacremonium," "P. parasitica." The tree, as a protection, releases resin to combat fungal infection. Before infection, the core is mostly odorless and light in color. However, as the infection progresses and the tree produces its aromatic resin as the last option for protection, the core becomes very dense and dark.

Asmats collect the oud tree and participate in its primary processing. Trade in this valuable product is under the control of Indonesians.

Ud has been known for thousands of years and is valued in Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Chinese cultures. Documentary evidence of the use of the agar tree dates back to 1400 BC. e., including references in the Mahabharata, the Bible, Jatak and several Hadith.

The agar tree is mentioned three times in the Bible ("aloy trees planted by the hand of the Lord"), as well as incense for intimacy. Agar tree was used among other incense in the cremation of Gautama Buddha, together with myrrh it was used in the anointing of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion.

History

1973: Founding of the Asmatian Culture Museum in Agathes

Catholic Bishop Alphonse Sovada, along with Tobias Schneebaum and Ursula Konrad, founded the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress (AMCP) in the local town of Agats in 1973.

1961: The disappearance in Asmat of New York Governor Michael Rockefeller's son

In November 1961, 23-year-old Michael Rockefeller, the son of then-New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and a member of one of the wealthiest families in the U.S., disappeared in Asmata when his boat capsized during an art collection expedition.

His disappearance, followed by an intense and ultimately unsuccessful search by Dutch authorities, was the source of much speculation about Mr. Rockefeller's fate. Author Carl Hoffman, in his book "Wild Harvest," presented evidence that Rockefeller was killed and eaten by people from the village of Osianep. According to the official version, he drowned or was eaten by a crocodile in the sea when he tried to swim to the shore.

1959: Expedition of French Documentarians

In 1959-1960, a French-Dutch expedition organized by Pierre-Dominique Geisso with the support of Gerard Dellois successfully made the first crossing from south to north of the island of New Guinea, in the part that was then under Dutch control.

They spent three months visiting the Asmatian tribes with the help of a Catholic missionary who introduced them and then set out to conquer the central mountain range, climbing the Stenboom River, a tributary of the Eilanden (Pulau).

They made first contact with the mountain Papuans, who inhabited this valley and still used stone axes, which they called "pygmies" because of their small growth, and then on the other side of the pass - eipomecs.

A convoy of 70 mogu porters, 10 armed Papuan soldiers and seven Europeans had difficulty finding their way through these harsh landscapes (the pass is at an altitude of 3800 m). Three of Muyu's porters fall ill and die. The expedition reached the Indenburg River after several months on foot, and was saved only by dropping food and medicine from the plane by parachute. The sick were then evacuated, and Herve de Maigret and Pierre-Dominique Geisso continued on to the north coast, which they reached 4 months after their departure from Asmat. The total duration of the expedition was 7 months.

Released in 1961, Sky Overhead and Dirt Underfoot won an Academy Award.

1953: Catholic missionaries begin activities at Asmatians

After World War II, the Dutch missionary G. Zegwaard began patrolling in the Asmat region from the Mimika region to the west. In 1953, Zegwaard restored the post in Agathes, which was to become the government headquarters and base for Roman Catholic missionaries.

It was only after Catholic missionaries established the post in 1953 that meaningful engagement with the Asmatian people began. Catholic missionaries, many of whom had degrees in anthropology, managed to partially persuade some of the Asmatians to stop cannibalism and bounty hunting, while encouraging the continuation of other important cultural cycles and festivals, such as shield ceremonies and bisj, which were incorporated into the adapted Catholic liturgy.

1938: Dutch first colonial post in Agathes

The first colonial post was created in the Asmat district of Agats in 1938. This small outpost was closed in 1942 due to the outbreak of World War II.

Asmata movies

• Sky overhead and dirt underfoot Original title: Le Ciel et la Boue (1960). Other titles: Sky Above and Mud Beneath, Sky And Mud

See also

• Korovay

Notes