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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP8uaEJ2_7M

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>.