The Asmat: Art and festival

To the Asmat tribe, woodcarving was inextricably connected to the spirit world. Much of the highly original Asmat art is symbolic of warfare, headhunting, and warrior-ancestor veneration. The Asmat were preoccupied with the necessity of appeasing ancestral spirits. In trying to placate this spirit world, they produced a wealth of superbly-designed shields, canoes, sculptured figures and drums.

In this clip, we can see how a beech effigy is carved. The beech  is a spirit that will accompany the deceased on his final  journey to the after world.