Ancestor skull "ndambirkus"
Collection Depuis (1969)
Ani de Gaston Defrerre, Marseille, France
Description
human skull, yellow patina, the lower jawbone tightly attached to the cheekbone by cord and plant fibre, modelled disc-shaped nose with ornament “bipane”, the eye sockets filled with beeswax with grey seeds of Job’s-tears grass and red seeds of the crab’s eye vine, headband of grey seeds with attached feather tufts, slightly dam. (headband);
the basic themes of Asmat culture are head-hunting and ancestor worship. Their ceremonial life is chiefly aimed at appeasing the spirits of the dead, which is why skulls of treasured ancestors “ndambirkus” were such elaborately embellished like the present one. The importance of captured heads in traditional Asmat life is clearly demonstrated by the role they played in male initiation. It was impossible for boys to become men without taking a head. A man’s vital strength is said to be particularly present in the skull, and the life force of another provided the energy necessary for a boy to make the jump to manhood.