ASMAT, THE TREE MEN

The last aboriginal tribes

An episode from the series MEMORIES OF OCEANIA

Synopsis

Betty and Jacques Villeminot met the Asmat, known as ruthless head-hunters, in the western part of the island of New Guinea, now part of Indonesia.

The Asmat society is based on violence and spirituality, hence an ever present fear of the other and the spirits. Matriarchy gives women a central role and they are not afraid to use terror to rule.

What binds this tribe is an innate sense for the arts and the sacred while ceremonies of adoption and wives’ swapping help the Asmat confront a hostile environment.