STATUE OF MBIS, CONNECTION OF LIFE AND DEATH
The Asmat tribe is one of the tribes in the archipelago. This tribe inhabits eastern Indonesia, precisely along the southern coast of Papua. The living area of the Asmat tribe is rich in sago trees and mangrove trees. These trees that play a very important role in the life of the Asmat. It is not only a source of life, but also as a medium used to implement the artistic value of the tribal community.
Various Asmat carving statues are one form of artistic value that is owned by this tribal community. For the Asmat people, sculpture is not just an aesthetic value. Statues also become their link with ancestral spirits, for example the Statue of Mbis.
The Mbis statue is made as a symbol of the presence of ancestors in the daily life of the Asmat tribe. The Asmat people believe that a deceased person can be found again in the form of the Statue of Mbis. Therefore, every statue of Mbis made is given the name of the person who has died. However, not all people who have died were made Statue of Mbis. Only certain people are made the Statue of Mbis.
Making this sculpture made of mangrove wood goes through a long process. Initially, the Asmat men gathered. While shouting and tearing down the mangrove trees. After collapsing, the mangrove tree trunks are cleaned from the branches and the skin is peeled. The mangrove tree trunks are then covered with red liquid - the ingredients are also from mangrove trees. After finishing with red liquid, mangrove tree trunks are brought to the village.
That said, the people of the Asmat tribe believed that mangrove trunks were the embodiment of the ancestral body. Meanwhile, the red liquid applied to the mangrove tree trunk is the blood.
Being part of the mangrove felling group is an honor for adult men of the Asmat tribe. When they arrived at the village, the community would welcome this group of loggers like a hero who returned from the battlefield.
The mangrove tree was then given to Wow Ipits. Wow Ipits is a term for people who have expertise in carving sculptures. Usually, working on a Mbis Statue can be completed in one day. After being made, Statue of Mbis is displayed in front of the house as a symbol of communication between the world of death and the world of life.
Various Asmat carving statues are one form of artistic value that is owned by this tribal community. For the Asmat people, sculpture is not just an aesthetic value. Statues also become their link with ancestral spirits, for example the Statue of Mbis.
The Mbis statue is made as a symbol of the presence of ancestors in the daily life of the Asmat tribe. The Asmat people believe that a deceased person can be found again in the form of the Statue of Mbis. Therefore, every statue of Mbis made is given the name of the person who has died. However, not all people who have died were made Statue of Mbis. Only certain people are made the Statue of Mbis.
Making this sculpture made of mangrove wood goes through a long process. Initially, the Asmat men gathered. While shouting and tearing down the mangrove trees. After collapsing, the mangrove tree trunks are cleaned from the branches and the skin is peeled. The mangrove tree trunks are then covered with red liquid - the ingredients are also from mangrove trees. After finishing with red liquid, mangrove tree trunks are brought to the village.
That said, the people of the Asmat tribe believed that mangrove trunks were the embodiment of the ancestral body. Meanwhile, the red liquid applied to the mangrove tree trunk is the blood.
Being part of the mangrove felling group is an honor for adult men of the Asmat tribe. When they arrived at the village, the community would welcome this group of loggers like a hero who returned from the battlefield.
The mangrove tree was then given to Wow Ipits. Wow Ipits is a term for people who have expertise in carving sculptures. Usually, working on a Mbis Statue can be completed in one day. After being made, Statue of Mbis is displayed in front of the house as a symbol of communication between the world of death and the world of life.
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