Contemporary Traditional Asmat Culture part 2 "The Asmat Creation Story: Fumeripits creates People from Trees" 

By Amanda Parada, February 2, 2012 Period 8, Culture and Georgaphy

Source: Caglayan. Ph. D., Emily. "The Asmat", In Helibrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000--.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/asma/hd_asma.htm(October 2004); and Mr. Ruben Meza, 2012 

             

According to Asmat tradition: "Fumeripits was the first being to exist on earth, and he also created the first men's ceremonial house [called] a jeu."

"Fumeripits would spend his days dancing along the beach but after awhile grew tired of being alone."

"So he chopped down a muber of tress, carved them into human figures, and placed them inside the jeu."

"However, since the sculptures were inanimate, Fumeripits was still unhappy. He then decided to create a drum, and chopped down another tree, hollowed

out the center, and stretched a piece of lizard skin over the top."

"As he began to play the drum, the human figures miraculously came to life, their elbows came unstuck from their knees, and they began to dance 

This is how Fumeripits made people from tress. And the first people were Asmat.