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The Tree Peoples
of New Guinea
The Korowai, Kombai, and
Asmat
Yannick Grignon & Breanna Redford
Location
Irian Jaya, Indonesia
West Papua - Indonesia
The Brazza River Area
The Korowai and the Kombai: An Introduction
● There are about 4000 of each tribe
● Their land is called bolüp
● Stone age technology
● Wars are/were common
● First contact: 1970s
● Continued isolation
The Asmat: An Introduction
● “Asmat Capinmi” → Asmat World
● Approx. 50 000 Asmat people
● Ancestors estimated to have settled 30 000 years ago
● First contact: March 10, 1623
● Second Contact: September 3 1770
● Agats - 1938
Art & ArchitectureThe Asmat
● Story of Origin: Fumeripits and wowipits
The Met
Art & Architecture
The Korowai and Kombai
● The famous treehouses
○ Video
● Some art
Spirituality and Religion
The Asmats
● Ritual warfare and bis feasts
Spirituality and Religion
The Asmats
● Death and Afterlife: the living,
the intermediate, the safan
● Jipae - funerary ceremonies
The Korowai and Kombai
● Not monotheistic - Belief in spirits like the loléo
● Imagine the world (bolüpbolüp) as being surrounded by death (bolüplefupé),
surrounded by endless ocean (méan-maêl)
● Intermittent festivals
● Reincarnation
Traditional Ways of Life: Headhunting and Cannibalism
The Asmat
● Folklore: the tradition of headhunting
● The importance of shields
Traditional Ways of Life: Headhunting and Cannibalism
The Asmats
● Skull Worship
● Male Initiation
Case Study
Michael Rockefeller
● 1961: the disappearance
● Carl Hoffman: Savage Harvest
● Victim to ritualistic cannibalism killing
● Revenge: Dutch Archipelago takeover
Religious/Traditional CannibalismThe Korowai and the Kombai
● Revenge-based punishment
● Khakhua
● Dutch settlement - 1920s
● Christianity and Western
schools
● Labour and Natural
Resource
Exploitation - 1970s
● Transmigration
Western Influence & The Future
● Tourism
● The government of Indonesia
● Increased outside contact
● Loss of culture
Bibliography
Australia West Papua Association. "Transmigration." The University of Texas. July 1995. Web. 13 April 2017.
<https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/cline/papua/letter.htm>.
Caglayan, Emily. "The Asmat." The Metropolitan Musuem of Art. October 2004. Web. 30 March 2017.
<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/asma/hd_asma.htm>.
East-Indonesian.info. "Southern Papua; swamps, Tree-houses, Art & More." n.d. East-Indonesia.info. Web. 23 February 2017.
<http://www.east-indonesia.info/regions/papua-travel-information-southern-papua.html>.
Hoffman, Carl. Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art. New York:
HarperCollins, 2014. Book.
Papua Trekking. "Asmat - the most dreaded cannibals." n.d. Papua Trekking. Web. 23 February 2017.
<http://www.papuatrekking.com/asmat_cannibals.html>.
Payne, Emily. "Incredible Homes of the Treehouse Tribe." Daily Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 2 Mar. 2017.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2958291/The-tree-dwellers-New-Guinea-Amazing-images-offer-glimpse-secretiv
e-Korowai-tribe-living-rickety-treehouses-140ft-remote-rainforest.html>.
Novak, Jiri. "The Korowai and Kombai Tribes West Papua (Irian Jaya) - 2009." Vanishing World Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
<http://vanishingworldphotography.com/korowai-kombai-tribe.html>.
Bibliography
Raffaele, Paul. "Sleeping with Cannibals." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, 01 Sept. 2006. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.
<http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/sleeping-with-cannibals-128958913/>.
Rose, Georgia. "Meeting the Cannibal Tribes of Indonesian New Guinea." VIce. N.p., 4 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/hanging-out-with-cannibals-georgia-rose-377>.
University of St. Thomas. "Asmat Art Exhibited - University of St. Thomas." 16 April 2010. Youtube. Video. 9 April 2017.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP8uaEJ2_7M>.
Van Arsdale, Peter, and Kathleen Van Arsdale. "Asmat." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 23 February. 2017.
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/places/australia-and-oceania/pacific-islands-political-geography/asmat>.
Van Enk, Gerrit J. "Korowai." Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/korowai>.
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