Bisj poles, sculptures from the rainforest

A richly illustrated essay on the exceptional sculptures from the Asmatpeople in Papua For all those interested in Oceanic art or ethnographic artin general Bis... » 

A richly illustrated essay on the exceptional sculptures from the Asmatpeople in Papua For all those interested in Oceanic art or ethnographic artin general Bisj poles are long figurativelycarved tree trunks from thesouthwest of New Guinea. The poles serve as a memorial for the deceased andhave been named for the ritual of which they form the centre the bisj. Thisritual has to do with the cycle of life and death and???in former times???withheadhunting and actions of revenge. Through pacification and Christianizationof the Asmat these practices were banned and ethnologists feared that theassociated rituals and woodcarving art would as a result disappear. Heresulting collection is a celebration of this dying art form gatheringtogether photographs and text on both the ritual and the art form. «