An Introduction On The Asmat Tribe

Asmat tribe is one of the most famous tribe who lives in West Papua, Indonesia. This very primitive tribe lives in an untouched area surrounded by vast mangrove, bamboo forest as well as wild sago in the western of the New Guinea Island. The Asmat tribe people are living together in a long house that they built to cater seven up to ten group members of which each family has its own set aside fireplace. Their staple food is sago, insects, sails and mussels. Living in a lowland jungle, this particular tribe has develop a fantastic way of hunting for their food, collecting sago, setting animal traps as well as fishing. As a matter of fact, the Asmat tribe region is now become a tourist destination that allows every curious as well as adventurous tourist to join as well as learning more about their primitive daily lives.

Most people might recognize the Asmat tribe for their gorgeous wood carvings. In fact, their wood carvings are amongst the best wood carving in the world. The Asmat tribe believes that they arouse out of wood that makes them think wood is a sacred thing. Considered as the best woodcarvers of the stone-age, the Asmat tribe has proven their ability and skill in woodcarving from their admirable statues, engraved boats as well as their small drums. Such finest wood carving of the Asmat tribe has caused countless numbers of collectors or even museum come to visit this particular tribe to appreciate as well as achieve their masterpiece of art. We can find several masterpieces of such woodcrafts in well known museums both nationwide and abroad such as the Museum of Primitive Art in New York City. You will also be able to find Asmat tribe’s masterpieces in galleries as well as households in Germany or America.

The Asmat tribe used to well known mostly for its cannibalism. They had usually put a human skull of their victim under their head instead of putting a pillow. They would also eat animals’ brains mix with sago worms right from skulls that are divided into two parts. A tourist may also find a lot of skulls that have been decorated and modified placed honorably in a certain part of the long house where the Asmat tribe lives – they worship the skulls they hunted. Formerly, the Asmat tribe does not name their children until they attacked the nearby villages for head hunting. The children are named after the names of the people killed that are brought to their village. However, the missionaries have done a hard work to change their belief.