The Bis Pole and Avenged Deaths: A Mini-Essay

     For the Asmat people of south-western New Guinea, the death of anyone other than an infant or the elderly is caused by malevolent magic and must be avenged; otherwise, the spirit of the deceased will linger within the village and cause misfortune.[1] After a death – particularly one from illness of disaster – the tribal elders would call for a memorial feast known as a bis mbu or bis pokumbui. A mangrove tree would be felled and carried into the village to be placed in a special room within the men’s house (yeu). There, a group of men under the supervision of a master carver (wow ipits) would carve the bis pole in secret.[2] Meant to honor the dead, the bis pole was broken into three sections: the lower portion with a canoe to transport the spirit to the afterlife; the middle portion (bis anakat) representing the deceased; and the upper portion (cemen) with a phallus to bring prosperity to the village.[3] Upon its completion, the pole was presented before the community and warriors danced around it, assuring the spirit that their death would be avenged. At the end of the feast, the bis pole was taken into the wilderness, where the spirit was instructed to move onward to the afterlife (safan) and the pole was destroyed to signify their transition.[4]

Works Referenced

Kjellgren, Eric. Oceania: Art of the Pacific Island in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.
 

Kjellgren, Eric. How To Read Oceanic Art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014.

Werness, Hope, ed. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Native Art: Worldview, Symbolism, and Culture in Africa, Oceania, and Native North America. New York: Continuum, 2000.
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[1] Kjellgren, Oceania, 26. 
[2] Werness, 150. 
[3] Kjellgren, How To Read Oceanic Art, 51-54. 
[4] Kjellgren, Oceania, 28.