You Carve a World-Class from the Asmat tribe

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

"Their similarity lies in physical characteristics, where the Asmat tribe has an average height of about 172 cm for men and 162 cm for women. Their skin color is generally black with curly hair. This similarity is due to the fact that the Asmat tribe is still of the same descent as the Polynesian people."

The Asmat tribe is spread from the shores of the Arafura Sea to the Jayawijaya Mountains. Overall, they occupy the Asmat Regency area, which encompasses 7 sub-districts. The vastness of the Asmat Regency makes the distance between villages or between villages and sub-districts very far. Not to mention the swampy terrain, which can make travel between other villages take 1-2 hours on foot.

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

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

"When the tifa is played, the Mbis statue will transform into a human dancing 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 for carving. They use chisels made from cassowary bones."

The Asmat tribe began to know iron when the Lorentz expedition in 1907 passed through the rivers around Asmat in an effort to reach the snow-capped peak of Jayawijaya. They made contact with the Asmat tribe and bartered iron knives, iron axes, and food cans for the special carved art products of the Asmat.

It turns out that iron objects, new items for the Asmat Tribe, have become something they endlessly adore. Moreover, they feel that with these iron objects, the process of carving wood becomes easier compared to using cassowary bone chisels. This fondness for iron objects was once reported in a Dutch newspaper in 1930, mentioning that an armada of Asmat people armed with bows, arrows, and spears attacked a village on the border of Mimika.

The Asmat tribe is known for its distinctive carving art tradition, which is famous even internationally. Even the famous European artist, Pablo Picasso, admired this carving art during his lifetime.

Asmat carvings serve as a medium connecting life in the world with the life of the spirit world. Through the carving art, the Asmat tribe remains connected to their ancestors. All types of carvings are made together, starting from paddles, shields, tifa, bows, and so on, which are then named after the recently deceased. The naming is meant to remind them of the deceased.

Almost all Asmat carvings are made by men. Their crafts or carvings are generally used for ritual purposes, but some are not used for that purpose. Each craftsman or carver has their own characteristics, especially regarding the carvings needed for ritual purposes, which have very clear differences.

In its development, many carvers from the Asmat tribe not only carve to actualize life but also for economic reasons. And now that masterpiece has become a highly sought-after commodity.

Asmat carvings have distinctive characteristics that set them apart from carvings from other regions. The neat workmanship and intricate details of the carvings are the reasons why Asmat carvings are renowned all over the world and are highly sought after by art enthusiasts.

Motifs related to nature, living creatures, and daily life activities are commonly found in Asmat carvings. Common patterns include bats, birds of paradise, and fish. Meanwhile, the forms of activities typically depicted are humans engaged in war, hunting, or fishing; they often also create reflections of the life activities of the Asmat ancestors. Certainly, these motifs and forms are never separate from the life of the Asmat tribe itself.

"If you are interested in collecting Asmat carvings, you can hunt for them at Hamadi Market in Jayapura, which sells many traditional products from the Papuan people. However, it would be more advisable to visit the Asmat tribe's village, so you can witness firsthand how these masterpieces are created."

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Photography : hendrohioe