A Fine Old New Guinea Dance Costume Asmat People Northwest Asmat Area West Papua Irian Jaya

A Fine Old New Guinea Dance Costume Asmat People Northwest Asmat Area West Papua Irian Jaya

The Jipae Ceremony is performed to release the spirits of the recently deceased so that their spirits can move on to the afterlife.  Each costume represents a known person.

In the field photo you can see the Jipae costumes being danced in front of the special Men’s House used only for this ceremony.

The ceremony lasts several months (the costumes make occasional appearances at the front of the specially made ceremonial house or Jeu). Women & children only hear the singing & drums coming from the Men’s Houses. They may also see the costumes from the edge of the village.

On the last day of the ceremony, the costumes walk thru the village to receive gifts of food & other items they might need on their journey to the afterworld

The families of the represented deceased throw themselves onto the ground in front of the costumes pulling at them and mourning their departure from this world, it is a very emotional moment. After the intense mourning the costumes disappear into the jungle never to be seen again (they were traditionally left in the trees to decay naturally).

The Asmat people’s main myth is that humans were made from wood/trees.

According to the creation myth, the Asmat people believe that they are the descendant of Fumeripits a creator being that was so lonely that he carved statues out of wood, he then carved a drum, and one day, he played the drum and sang and the wood figures started to come to life. This is the beginning of the Asmat people. That is why trees in the forest are like brothers because the Asmat were created from trees by Fumeripits.  Wood carving is the continuation of the Asmat creation myth.

Provenance: This Jipae Costume was collected by Todd Barlin in 1986 and was part of a larger field collection of Asmat & Mimika objects that are now many museum collections including The Musee Du Quai Branly in Paris.   The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art