Ceremonial pole (mbis): ancestor figures

Sea and land merge in the coastal plain of southwestern New Guinea, an area of tidal swamps, tropical rain forest, and numerous streams that provide access for the Asmat people who live there. Death is the impetus for an important Asmat ritual, the "mbis" ceremony, which both honors the dead and challenges the living to avenge them. The Asmat believe that death is never natural; it is always caused by an enemy, directly through warfare or indirectly through sorcery. Death brings an imbalance to society, which only a reciprocal death can correct.

The "mbis" ceremony involves the carving of the most spectacular Asmat sculpture, a towering pole that depicts two or more standing human figures, which represent the dead to be avenged, and a phallic openwork projection. The very carving of a "mbis" pole suggests vengeance, for the carver attacks a living mangrove tree as if it were an enemy, and when he strips the tree of its bark, a red sap flows like blood. For the ceremony, several completed poles are installed in front of the men's ceremonial house, facing the river. In years past, the pole remained standing until a successful headhunt provided the heads of victims that signified the restoration of balance. After a final feast, the elaborately carved poles area taken to a swamp of sago palm, where the rotting poles transfer their supernatural power to the sago, thereby stimulating the growth of the Asmat people's most important food.

This sculpture is one of the most important objects in the DMA's Oceanic collection, which is featured in the Pacific galleries of the arts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific on the third floor.