The Asmat tribe is a tribe that inhabits the interior of Papua. They are famous for their intricate and unique wood carvings. In addition to the unique carvings, there are several other unique things that many people don’t know about. Here we will discuss about Asmat tribe tradition.
Custom and Asmat Tribe Tradition
The Asmat tribe, which is one of the tribes located in the Papua region. It is one of the tribes that is quite famous for its unique customs. In addition to their customs. Asmat Tribe also has unique traditions and handicrafts and is also famous not only in Indonesia, even to foreign countries. One of the famous crafts of the Asmat Tribe is carving and carving.
Asmat tribe has a well-known art, namely dances, songs and rituals that are performed as markers of important events. Not only that, the Asmat tribe tradition is also famous for its rituals of respect for the spirits of their ancestors.
The Asmat tribe, which is known for its life and culture that is still sustainable to this day, makes the lifestyle of the Asmat people very friendly with nature. Asmat people really take care of the nature that they make a place to live in. Even position themselves as part of nature, so that the Asmat people really take care of their nature.
Most of the Asmat people make ends meet by hunting or gardening. This is done around their residence because the Asmat people live in the forest. The Asmat people hunt a lot of fish or animals in the forest and also take sago or chop sago to be used as daily food. They have few Asmat tribe tradition.
Nine
Sembilu is a baby’s umbilical cord cutting knife made of bamboo. This has become a tradition and culture that thrives in the interior tribes of Papua.
Wedding traditions
A man who wants to marry a woman must “buy” her with a dowry of an antique plate and money equivalent to Johnson’s boat (a boat used for fishing). If the dowry is less then the man can still marry but he must still pay for the lack of dowry as long as he is a husband. This is one of unique Asmat tribe tradition.
Dead
In the belief of the Asmat tribe, if the deceased is the chief of the tribe, the corpse will be mummified and displayed in front of the traditional house. For us this may be a terrible thing, but for them it is a normal thing. It is different if the person who dies is an ordinary person, then they are buried as we generally see.
It’s just that his death ceremony was accompanied by weeping and singing. There is another tradition of ikipalek, namely the tradition of cutting a finger segment as a form of condolences if a family member dies. Ikipalek applies to women who are already married. This is one of Asmat tribe tradition. Read also The Uniqueness Tribes in Papua and One Of Them is the Tradition of Cutting Fingers.
Government system
The Asmat tribe has one highly respected tribal chief. The task of the tribal chief is in accordance with the agreement of the community to maintain harmonious relations between the community and the tribal chief. If the tribal chief dies, the title of tribal chief can be given to people who are considered honorable by the community.
Bow and Arrow
Bows and arrows were used as hunting and war tools for the Asmat. In the past there was a very extreme war agreement. If the enemy dies on the battlefield, his corpse may be brought home to be cut into pieces and then eaten together. However, this Asmat tribe tradition is no longer valid.
Indonesia is a country that has quite a lot of ethnic diversity. The many tribes and cultures as well as customs in Indonesia make Indonesia a country that has uniqueness and cultural richness that should be proud of and also preserved. One of the tribes that still exists in Indonesia is the Asmat.
Knowledge of the Asmat tribe tradition can be used as additional knowledge for us about the richness of ethnicity and culture in Indonesia
