By:
Yosias Rumkorem
Dewi Linggasari
Yustinus Sempah
Asmat is a name that arouses the
image of carving art and religious values from astonishing traditional
sculpture. The world dance art has institutionalized in the religious life. As the dance art and carving art
becomes unseparated units. Asmat and carving art became unseparated units,
Asmat and carving art is unified icon. According to Biakai, the wood carving is
the principal element for the character of Asmat. The carvings reflect the relation
between Asmat people and the realm of spirit (Verlag, 2002: 13). Asmat people believe that in
essence, this world consists of three-part. The first is the live word or Asmat
ow capinmi –life realm—the second is the transit place of the died people and
they haven’t come to the eternal rest place in safar –paradise—called as dampo
ow capinmi. The spirit which lives there are the cause of death, sorrow, earthquake, and combat. The live people have to redeem these spirit by holding
parties and creating carving as well as giving them names in order that they
can come in safar which is the final goal –the third—from Asmat life
(Linggasari, 2002: 27 - 28). The story of Asmat carving that can move to a
different place, move, and produce a voice is the justification of that view.
Joan Kealiinohomoku, a traditional
dance expert who is from Samoa Island believes that dance is culture and
culture is dance. All esthetic configuration of choreography compete to serve
to aspects of social life holistically; cosmic relation, letter, entertainment,
public art, daily life, wedding ritual, feminism, power concept, character,
prayers, welfare or ethics. However, R.O Simatupang (1964: 9) states that
Indonesia dances are based on worship and prayer, to express the inner feeling
toward the God cherished in one’s consciousness (Abdullah, 2007: 73). The Asmat
dance is the real translation of the concerned life. The carvers, dancers and
other community members reside in an area with the life norms and the
collectively-agreed rituals. The norms and rituals are embodied in a ceremony
and they crystallize disaccustom.
Jew –a house for bachelor-- the traditional house of Asmat that is
the physical building that must absolutely exist in community life. Jew is not only conditioned to maintain communal life. Jew is not only conditioned to maintain
communal life, but also more than that. It is the centre of concentric circle,
“the sacred” place for all members of its group, so every members not separated
each other.
In the language of Asmat, jew means
spirit, if it is translated in communal life, jew means life spirit –a spirit that
bring to life and activates the communal life,
so that every member doesn’t become dispersed. The togetherness is
an absolute thing in community life, since there isn’t anybody who can run his
life alone without support from others. Jew is the traditional building where
the traditional parties held, the life
norm are agreed together. A party means a meeting attended by the community
members and functions directly as social cohesion. Jew becomes a traditional
mean that is very essential for cohesion.
The Asmat tribe resides in the swampy land with about 26.725 Km square in width. It consists of seven districts with various families. Bisman family resides in Agats District, Unir Sirau family, Kenok, and Joerat in Sawa Erma, Becebub in Atsy and Suator, Safan in Akat, and Simai in Pantai Kasuari and Fayit. Each of them has specifications in carving, art, folklore, and language. However, they all have the same traditional house, namely jew. In Asmat regency there are 139 villages which are dispersed along the stream, each village has jew as a communal house, therefore it can be estimated that the total of jew in this regency is equal as the total of the village. The Asmat history is noted on 4 February 1954 when the bible came to this area. Long time before the history is noted, jew has established and come the formal part of Asmat tribe life.
In 1955 after living in Asmat, Pastor Zegwaard estimated the total of Asmat population was about 30.000 souls. In the following years, the total of population increases to 40.000 souls, (Scheebaum, 1985: 25). More than a half-century late, in 2007 the total of Asmat population in which the comers changed to about 64.000 souls. This all total population has interaction in collective life to jew as a concentric circle in building the life.
Jew plays an important role in maintaining communal life. In the development and reformation era, jew experiences the socio-cultural transformation function. A phenomenon that is unestimated and unpredictable by “the leader” of tradition and the policymakers. One important thing which is forgettable is estimating jew as basic component in empowering the people.
This writing is aimed at inventorying and documenting the jew existence as the construction of Asmat traditional house in a socio-cultural view and the developing transformation function in line with the community change flow. This research is to add the library research about Asmat and its contribution in the anthropology field. The name of Asmat cannot be separated from a context called as carving art existence. Asmat and the carving art is unified icon.
In building religious communal life, Asmat tribe develops of type traditional building construction called jew—the bachelor house—or well-known as man’s house. The house is built through a complex ritual with philosophy which reflects a way of Asmat life. Jew is the largest building in the village house, made of local wood, rattan and sago leaves a its roof. This traditional house has about seven to thirteen doors with one wair—the main fireplace—and a number of others in the left and right side in accordance with the number of clans available in the related village.
In the jew, the boys who are growing to mature is built as the ready to combat soldier. That case becomes a cause of why the women cannot be involved in bachelor house activity. The ready to combat soldiers are beorpit—the strong and brave men. Meanwhile, the traditional party such as emak cem, bis sculpture, satan, and sago larva are held in the same traditional house. All kinds of discussion and dispute are presented in the jew through the authority of traditional leaders. Jew becomes a mean or place in running socio-cultural life. Radcliffe-Brown (in Ihromi, 1980: 61) states that the various aspects of social behaviour don’t develop to satisfy an individual need, but they are aimed at maintaining the social structure of the community. The social structure of the community is all networks of social relations available.
The Asmat tribe resides in the swampy land with about 26.725 Km square in width. It consists of seven districts with various families. Bisman family resides in Agats District, Unir Sirau family, Kenok, and Joerat in Sawa Erma, Becebub in Atsy and Suator, Safan in Akat, and Simai in Pantai Kasuari and Fayit. Each of them has specifications in carving, art, folklore, and language. However, they all have the same traditional house, namely jew. In Asmat regency there are 139 villages which are dispersed along the stream, each village has jew as a communal house, therefore it can be estimated that the total of jew in this regency is equal as the total of the village. The Asmat history is noted on 4 February 1954 when the bible came to this area. Long time before the history is noted, jew has established and come the formal part of Asmat tribe life.
In 1955 after living in Asmat, Pastor Zegwaard estimated the total of Asmat population was about 30.000 souls. In the following years, the total of population increases to 40.000 souls, (Scheebaum, 1985: 25). More than a half-century late, in 2007 the total of Asmat population in which the comers changed to about 64.000 souls. This all total population has interaction in collective life to jew as a concentric circle in building the life.
Jew plays an important role in maintaining communal life. In the development and reformation era, jew experiences the socio-cultural transformation function. A phenomenon that is unestimated and unpredictable by “the leader” of tradition and the policymakers. One important thing which is forgettable is estimating jew as basic component in empowering the people.
This writing is aimed at inventorying and documenting the jew existence as the construction of Asmat traditional house in a socio-cultural view and the developing transformation function in line with the community change flow. This research is to add the library research about Asmat and its contribution in the anthropology field. The name of Asmat cannot be separated from a context called as carving art existence. Asmat and the carving art is unified icon.
In building religious communal life, Asmat tribe develops of type traditional building construction called jew—the bachelor house—or well-known as man’s house. The house is built through a complex ritual with philosophy which reflects a way of Asmat life. Jew is the largest building in the village house, made of local wood, rattan and sago leaves a its roof. This traditional house has about seven to thirteen doors with one wair—the main fireplace—and a number of others in the left and right side in accordance with the number of clans available in the related village.
In the jew, the boys who are growing to mature is built as the ready to combat soldier. That case becomes a cause of why the women cannot be involved in bachelor house activity. The ready to combat soldiers are beorpit—the strong and brave men. Meanwhile, the traditional party such as emak cem, bis sculpture, satan, and sago larva are held in the same traditional house. All kinds of discussion and dispute are presented in the jew through the authority of traditional leaders. Jew becomes a mean or place in running socio-cultural life. Radcliffe-Brown (in Ihromi, 1980: 61) states that the various aspects of social behaviour don’t develop to satisfy an individual need, but they are aimed at maintaining the social structure of the community. The social structure of the community is all networks of social relations available.
Jew
plays an essential role in sustaining the structure of Asmat community for
collective survival. In the following progress, when the development is
continuing, and when the changes happen, jew isn’t traditional local
institution that functions to conduct ritual and traditonal discussion in
maintaining the community unity. However, it is subject to socio-cultural transformation.
Kutanegara (in Putra, 2006: 202) states, that the traditional local institution
has subjected to transformation in both forms, system and mechanism. The
changes have also modified the function and role of each institution in local
community life. Meanwhile, the romanticism
concerning local institution existence as guarantor institution is still powerful among the policyholders and a part of our community. In
the following progress, besides it plays role as a local traditional institution,
jew has also function as a house in running the messages, development relaxation,
posyandu (integrated service post), counselling, the government aid
distribution, and campaign. Moreover, Jew isn’t as men’s house only, because the
women from various classes and circles can come the jew, especially in the duty of empowering the women. Jew is the only
grandiose building with a large room that can accommodate around six hundred
people. In every Asmat village, there’s not any building which is most
luxurious than jew. In the matter of fact, the muddy and swampy land that
cannot be stepped on by feet is fundamental problem is establishing a
permanent building. In such a situation, jew becomes a solution in empowering
totally all potency of community.
Nowadays, after the war is not needed any more, jew is also subjected to changes. The boys are not necessary to have a learning process in the jew and graduate as soldiers. There are different process that must be studied when the situation has changed. Although the change could never influence the jew existence absolutely.
Nowadays, after the war is not needed any more, jew is also subjected to changes. The boys are not necessary to have a learning process in the jew and graduate as soldiers. There are different process that must be studied when the situation has changed. Although the change could never influence the jew existence absolutely.
In
making socio-cultural overview concerning jew, the research applied with
the qualitative method, whereas the data collection is carried out by participation
observation, depth interview manual. The basis data has been accumulated since
1996, then the collection is needed in completing the wholeness. Photography my
function in translating jew existence really, as one picture may have a thousand
meaning.
