Papua (Irian Jaya) The Kamoro

The Kamoro's History

The Kamoro are a people of the Indonesian province of Papua. Numbering 8,000 in 1987, they are fishermen or hunters and gatherers of sago. They live in the kabupaten Asmat, in a region extending from the southern coast, between Etna Bay and the mouth of the Mukamuga, inward to 2600 meters. Past 50 years, major changes have affected Kamoro. Many of their land was taken without their consent. The modern world was introduced to the Kamoro and a people to remain viable and survive, they must adapt and make the most.

The Kamoro's Culture

For Kamoro and their culture, they are the true, real humans (or Kamoro Asmat) in contrast to the other. They are against the ghosts and spirits. Them, humans, living between two worlds, that of the ancestors and the upper world. Humans do not live in the earth is merely a corridor through which flow the living and the dead human spirits, animals and plants. These concepts are important to Kamoros.

Papua headdress adorned with cassowary feathers
Period: XXth Century
Material: cassowary feathers, shells, boar tusks, fiber and natural pigments
Function: Ritual