Asmat
Asmat has been scared thing what people think about. Its history as the head hunters being one of causal factor as its often called cannibals tribe. Asmat is a tribe whose members ate brains of their enemies in the war periods mixed with sago worms for their halved skulls. They used to use human skulls as a pillow.
They lived among the mangrove forest of small island in the southern side of the western part of New Guinea Island. They build long houses where about six or even ten of the families stayed. While they build Bujang house to hold ritual and religion ceremony. Asmat tribe divides into them who lived in coastal area and those who lived in the back of the island. Both of them has its own special characteristic whether its dialect, life style, ritual, social structure, and ritual. The head-hunters also meant for hunting names. Every person named after they killed their enemy. A child gave a name only ten years after it was born then after its village set out to kill a man from an enemy village nearby. They had learned the name of the man they killed then bring his skull to their village. It is the only way a person got its name.
Asmat was not only hunt skulls, they also glorified them. The skulls modified and decorated to display in their honorable place in their houses. Fortunately this tradition has become a history after missionaries have done a lot to change this so we can go to the Asmat for a visit. Beyond its scary history, Asmat is an excellent woodcarvers. They believed if they arose out of wood. It made them sacred the wood. In the past they carved wonderful things by wood. Their small drums, statues, carving boats are extraordinary. Most of their works exported to the Europe or America while it is being precious collection of German or America museum and galleries. Modern Asmat is using metal tools. In ancient times, Asmat men practiced polyginy. They married more than one women of their tribe especially women whose the men relative’s husband died as the women left without protection and economic support. Even today Asmat are relatively isolated while their most important tradition hold strongly instead of their communication to the outside world increasing in last decade. Many of them received higher education in other parts of Indonesia and some in Europe. They look for a new way to compile technology to their traditional custom. In the other side their area has been under pressure of logging and fishing.
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