Asmat 

Asmat Tribe - Cannibalism and headhunting

The Asmat tribe is a tribe in the South Papua Province, Indonesia. The Asmat tribe is known for its unique wood carvings. The Asmat tribe’s population is divided into two groups, namely those who live on the coast and those who live in the interior. These two populations differ from each other in terms of dialect, way of life, social structure, and rituals. The coastal population is further divided into two parts, namely the Bisman tribe, which is between the Sinesty River, and the Simai tribe on the Nin River.

The Asmat tribe is known for its very distinctive traditional wood carvings. Some ornaments/motifs that are often used and become the main theme in the process of carving statues carried out by the Asmat tribe take the theme of the ancestors of their tribe, which are usually called mbis. But it doesn’t stop there; other ornaments/motifs that resemble boats or wuramon are often found, which they believe are symbols of spirit boats that carry their ancestors in the afterlife.

 These people, the Asmat tribe, are former headhunters and cannibals who made carvings for elaborate and continuous rituals and feasts that were designed to placate ancestral spirits. The Asmat believe that death occurs only through magic or murder. The former headhunters and cannibals of the Asmat were once very feared and have only been safe to visit for a few decades. Until today, many Asmat villages are wild and culturally intact

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