World Class Carving Art from the Asmat tribe

The Asmat tribe is a tribe originating from Papua. The Asmat tribe is known for its unique wood carvings. The Asmat population is divided into two, namely those who live on the coast and those who live inland. The lifestyle, way of thinking, social structure and daily life of the two categories of Asmat tribe are very different. For livelihoods, for example, the Asmat tribe in the interior usually work as hunters and garden farmers, while those who live on the coast prefer to be fishermen.

The similarity is in physical characteristics, where the Asmat tribe has an average height of around 172 cm, for men and 162 for women. Their skin color is generally black with curly hair. This similarity is because the Asmat tribe is still of the same descent as Polynesians.

The Asmat tribe is spread from the coast of the Arafuru Sea to the Jayawijaya Mountains. Overall, they occupy the Asmat Regency area, overseeing 7 sub-districts. The vast area of ​​Asmat Regency means that the distance between villages and sub-districts is very far. Not to mention the swampy contour of the land, meaning that traveling between other villages can take 1-2 hours on foot.

For the Asmat tribe, the traditions of carving, weaving, singing and dancing are their life. For those who do not have these skills it means death.

The Asmat tribe believes that their knowledge and carving skills come from an ancestor named Fumiripitsy, a carving expert. Fumiripitsy has created a very beautiful tifa, which he named Eme and statues called Mbis.

When this tifa is played, the statue of Mbis will transform into a human who dances to the sound of the tifa. Fumiripitsy said to Mbis, from that moment Mbis became his children. In their traditional culture, the Asmat tribe does not know metal chisels to carve. They use chisels made from cassowary bones.

The Asmat tribe became familiar with iron when Lorentz's expedition in 1907 crossed the rivers around Asmat in an attempt to reach the snowy peak of Jayawijaya. They made contact with the Asmat tribe and bartered iron knives, iron axes, food cans for special Asmat sculpture products.

It seems that iron objects, a new item for the Asmat tribe, are objects that they are not satisfied with. Moreover, they felt that with these iron objects, the process of carving wood was easier, compared to using cassowary bone chisels. This penchant for iron objects was reported in Dutch newspapers in 1930, stating that a fleet of Asmat people armed with bows, arrows and spears attacked a village on the Mimika border.

The art of the Asmat tribe is known for having a distinctive carving tradition that is famous abroad. Even the famous European artist, Pablo Picasso, during his lifetime admired this carving art.

Asmat carvings are a medium of connection between life in the world and life in the spirit world. Through the art of carving, the Asmat tribe remains connected to their ancestors. All kinds of carvings are made together, starting from paddles, shields, tifas, bows and so on which are then given names according to the person who has just died. The name is given to remind them of the deceased.

Almost all Asmat carvings are done by men. Their crafts or carvings are generally used for ritual purposes but there are also some that are not used for that purpose. Each craftsman or carver has his own characteristics, specifically the carvings required for ritual needs have very clear differences.

During its development, many carvers from the Asmat tribe not only carved to actualize their lives, but also for economic reasons. And now this masterpiece has become a much sought after commodity.

Asmat carvings have distinctive characteristics that differentiate them from carvings from other regions. The neat workmanship and intricate carving details are the reasons why Asmat carvings are famous throughout the world and are sought after by art fans.

Motifs related to nature, living creatures and daily life activities are often found in Asmat carvings. Common patterns include bats, birds of paradise and fish. While the forms of activity that are usually expressed are humans fighting, hunting or fishing, it is not uncommon for them to reflect the life activities of their Asmat ancestors. What is certain is that these motifs and forms have never been separated from the lives of the Asmat tribe themselves.

If you are interested in collecting Asmat carvings, then you can hunt for them at Hamadi Market, Jayapura, which sells many traditional Papuan products. But it would be even better if you visited the Asmat tribe village, so you could see firsthand how this masterpiece was born.

#OSCARLIVING #OLIV #BELANJAFURNITUREJADIMUDAH #FURNITUREJAKARTA #INDONESIABAIK #CARIFURNITURE #FURNITUREKANTOR #PUSATFURNITUREKANTOR #KURSIKANTOR #budayaindonesia #indonesia #asmat #papua #agats #ukiranasmat #tradisi #sukuasmat #keberagaman

Photography : hendrohioe