While they’re infamously known for allegedly killing and eating the American heir Michael Rockefeller in 1961, the Asmat tribe has a rich culture that extends beyond its history of headhunting and cannibalism.
August Adriaan Pulle/Wikimedia CommonsAsmat tribe members on the Lorentz River during the Third South New Guinea Expedition (1912-13).
For thousands of years, the Asmat tribe of New Guinea lived in relative isolation from the rest of the world. Then, in the 1960s, the Asmat made headlines after heir Michael Rockefeller went missing while researching the tribe’s art and culture, leading many to speculate that the Asmat killed and ate him.
An Indigenous people that reside in the remote swamplands and rainforests of New Guinea’s southwestern coast, the Asmat believe in the harmony of the universe and the importance of maintaining balance between the forces of life and death — and historically, those beliefs led them to headhunt and cannibalize enemies to appease their ancestors and achieve cosmic harmony.
But there’s much more to the Asmat tribe than its history of cannibalism. In addition to being a deeply spiritual people, the Asmat are expert woodcarvers whose art has appeared in museums around the world.
Dive into the fascinating history of this isolated culture.
The Early History Of The Asmat People
Pacific Manuscripts BureauTraditionally, dance was an important part of Asmat ritual, but missionaries and colonial administrations discouraged the practice.
The Asmat people are an Indigenous tribe based on the island of New Guinea in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. It’s estimated that roughly 70,000 Asmat people live on the island’s southwestern coast. Their villages, which house up to 2,000 people, are built along a system of rivers that flow into the Arafura Sea.
Five main cultural groups make up the Asmat people, with different groups speaking in different dialects of the Asmat language. Their woodcarving traditions are highly developed, making their territory a prime destination for art collectors.
The Asmat have resided in New Guinea for thousands of years and maintained relative isolation from the rest of the world for the majority of their history. Because they did not have a written language until recent years, not much is known about the early history of the tribe.
The tribe’s first recorded interaction with the outside world occurred in 1623, when Dutch explorers sailed past the island and observed members of the tribe from their ship’s deck.
On Sept. 3, 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to land in Asmat territory. But soon after they stepped onto the shore, they met a threatening group of Asmat warriors, who threw lime dust at the Englishmen and chased them back to their ship.
The next encounter came in 1826, when a Dutch explorer named Kolff and his crew landed on the island. They, too, retreated after Asmat warriors chased the crew and blasted them with lime powder.
In the early 20th century, Europeans began exploring the territory more frequently. Expeditions soon brought back Asmat art, and word spread of the culture’s expert woodcarving craftsmanship.
Over the years, European missionaries and colonial administrations worked to convert many of the Asmat people to Christianity and introduce other Western values and customs to Asmat territory. Today, the tribe is no longer as isolated as it once was and practices a blend of Asmat and Western traditions.
The Spirituality And Beliefs Of The Asmat Tribe
Edi Wibowo/Wikimedia CommonsThe Asmat people are expert woodcarvers.
The foundation of Asmat social and spiritual beliefs is harmony. The tribe believes that there is a cosmic balance between the living and the dead that must be maintained at all times.
For centuries, the Asmat headhunted and practiced cannibalism to maintain this balance. Headhunting was also a coming-of-age rite that allowed boys to transform into men.
Historically, when a tribe member died, either by natural causes or through violence, the Asmat believed that they must take the life of an enemy to restore balance in the universe. They would kill and decapitate the enemy and then consume their body as a community as part of a balance-restoring ritual. The Asmat warrior who made the kill would finally assume their victim’s name and spiritual power.
However, the practice of cannibalism and headhunting has fallen out of use following the colonization and Westernization of Asmat territory in the 20th century.
Gender relations within the Asmat tribe are strongly defined. Women typically care for the children and gather food and firewood. Men traditionally served as hunters and warriors. They often practice polygamy or wife-swapping, and control many aspects of community affairs. But now that headhunting is no longer practiced, The Guardian reports that Asmat men have less to do. Domestic violence is reportedly common.
Spencer Weart/Wikimedia CommonsAsmat tribesmen sit in a longhouse during a bisj pole completion ceremony.
Additionally, the Asmat believe that people are spiritually connected to trees. This has fueled their strong tradition of woodcarving. According to Asmat legend, the first being on Earth created mankind by carving them from wood. As a result, the Asmat hold woodcarvers in high esteem in their society.
The Asmat are known for the exquisite quality of their woodcarving craftsmanship, and particularly for their mangrove totem poles, or bisj. Measuring up to 20 feet tall, these stunning carvings are said to hold the spirits of the dead and were used in ritual ceremonies to help guide their souls to the afterlife.
And it was the tribe’s reputation for woodcarving that brought Michael Rockefeller to Asmat territory in 1961.
Michael Rockefeller Goes Missing In New Guinea
Eliot Elisofon / Harvard Peabody MuseumThe Rockefeller expedition to New Guinea. Michael Rockefeller sits second from the left.
The Asmat are perhaps best known for their alleged role in the disappearance of American heir Michael Rockefeller.
Rockefeller, the great-grandson of American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, graduated from Harvard University with a degree in history and economics. He loved the idea of adventure and the unknown, and in the early 1960s, he participated in an expedition to work on a documentary about the Dani people in New Guinea.
“It’s the desire to do something adventurous,” he explained, according to a 2023 Daily Star article, “at a time when frontiers, in the real sense of the word, are disappearing.”
After learning about the Asmat tribe’s intricately carved wooden sculptures, Rockefeller headed to the Asmat region with a team of researchers to see the carvings for himself. He hoped to create an exhibition of Asmat artwork for his father’s Museum of Primitive Art.
Journals from this expedition show Rockefeller documenting and engaging with the Asmat tribe while collecting various art pieces. Of the bisj poles, he wrote, according to a 2014 Smithsonian article: “This was one kind of object that seemed to me inviolate for the encroachment of western commercialism upon Asmat art.”
Jan Broekhuijse / Harvard Peabody MuseumMichael Rockefeller shows a camera to tribe members in New Guinea.
However, the project took a dark turn on Nov. 17, 1961. That day, Rockefeller and Dutch anthropologist René Wassing were boating in waters near the Asmat village of Otsjanep when their boat took on water and capsized.
The pair drifted for two days. On Nov. 19, Rockefeller reportedly told Wassing that he thought he could make the three to 10 mile swim to shore. He swam off. But while rescue crews found Wassing hours later, Rockefeller was never seen again.
After authorities conducted an extensive search of the area around the overturned boat, they declared Rockefeller legally dead in 1964. He was just 23 when he disappeared.
While it’s certainly possible that Rockefeller simply died by drowning after exhausting himself swimming, a number of theories about his disappearance have circulated over the years. Some have suggested that Rockefeller was kidnapped, was killed by sharks, or that he simply chose to live off-grid in the New Guinea wilderness.
But the most popular theory is that he was the victim of Asmat headhunting and cannibalism. A number of reports have emerged over the years that the Asmat killed and ate Rockefeller to restore balance after some of their own men had been gunned down by Dutch officials a few years prior. And while some tribe members have reportedly admitted to killing Rockefeller, no physical proof has ever surfaced.
The Asmat Tribe Today
Musee du Quai BranlyAn Asmat ancestor skull. Tribe members sometimes use these skulls in place of pillows.
Following Michael Rockefeller’s disappearance in New Guinea, the Indonesian government gained control of the Asmat region and swiftly began cracking down on the Asmat tribe, burning down ceremonial houses and discouraging the Asmat from practicing many of their customs — including their headhunting and cannibalism rituals.
Today, many of the Asmat are Catholic due to the work of missionaries in the area, though they have incorporated many of their traditions into Catholic rituals. Some Asmat children now attend schools run by the government and missionaries.
Like many remote Indigenous tribes, the Asmat are navigating how to balance modern technology and conveniences with their traditional ways of life. And their increased connection with the outside world has also presented new challenges for the Asmat. In recent years, excessive logging has threatened the livelihood of the Asmat, as the tribe relies heavily on wood for their carvings, housing, and food production. In 2000, the Asmat founded Lembaga Musyawarah Adat Asmat (LMAA), an organization dedicated to voicing their interests and maintaining their way of life.
While the tribe navigates these challenges, it still clings tightly to many of its traditions, including the making of intricate woodcarvings. In 1973, missionaries in West New Guinea established the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress, encouraging local Asmat tribe members to create woodcarvings and hold events to promote tribal pride and preserve their cultural identity.
Today, Asmat art has spread into museums across the globe. These carvings are still renowned as some of the world’s best woodwork.
As Catholic Bishop Alphonse Sowada, an advocate for the Asmat tribe, stated, according to the Holmes Museum of Anthropology: “Without art and ritual the Asmat culture could not survive.”
After reading about the Asmat tribe, dive into the story of the moon-eyed people from Cherokee legend. Then, read about the true story of the Amazonian Awá-Guajá tribe, the most threatened Indigenous group on Earth.
