This is a wooden Asmat ancestral carving made from light brown sago wood. It depicts a human figure standing with a platter in both hands and a cassowary beak between his legs. The entire piece is painted in white mbi and red wasah pigments, with the white used for the body surface and the red used for the accent lines. The base of the figure features the head of a cassowary pointed upwards and situated between the figure’s feet. The beak itself features characteristic circular eyes, notched nose, and elongated beak. The tip of the beak is attached to a platter which is held between the figure’s hands at the hip. The figure himself is simply detailed. The face features a wide mouth painted black with a jutting chin, pointed nose, and prominent brow line. The eyes are painted red and the top of the head is painted in black.
Color is believed to have magical properties in popular Asmat belief. White is called mbi and is made from crushing and cremating mussel shells found in riverbeds. Red wasah is created from the mixing of different clays at upstream villages. Both are magical and symbolize ideas such as power, strength, fertility, and mysticism.
Ancestor worship is central to Asmat cultural and religious belief. The ancestors are considered to be a part of the living world and play an integral role in the interconnectedness of humans to the natural realm. Honoring the ancestors comes in the form of carvings, made to represent individual ancestor figures for ceremonial purposes. Many carvings are produced for festivals and community building dedications. When a member of society dies, they are produced so that the spirits which embody them may protect the spirit of the deceased. When the function of carvings has been fulfilled, they are often discarded in the rainforests so that their spirits can rejuvenate the sago trees.
Colors: Brown, White, Red