Papua New Guinea Videos
Asmat

 

The Asmat: A Bachelor's initiation

A Asmat bachelor needs to pass a number of trials before he is allowed to marry. 

The candidate is initiated by elders in the traditions of the tribe. He has to prove that he is a good hunter by catching a cassovary (a very large and dangerous flightless bird).

The distribution of the candidate’s catch is subject to many strict rules. The breast of the cassowary must go to the future bride’s family, while the hunter himself is allowed to keep the heart of the bird. This is thought to transfer the speed of the bird to him. The young hunter will also be instructed in the art of carving a knife out of a cassovary bone and following this, he has to s to kill a couscous, a  marsupial important in Asmat mythology. The fur of this animal has a variety of uses.