Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bis Pole

Asmat (Bismam group) artist

Date

20th century

Medium

Wood, pigment

Culture

Asmat (Bismam group)

Department

Arts of Oceania

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This is a ritual bis pole created to honor an important and recently deceased member of society. In Asmat culture, families commission artists to carve a pole out of a single piece of wild nutmeg tree to represent clan members who have passed on. Its shape evokes a canoe, the main mode of transportation for the living and the dead, which conveys the spirit to the next world. The pole is displayed at a large community ceremony, and a mock battle is staged around its base to appease any restless spirits. Then it is ritually disposed of, its purpose complete. Asmat (Bismam group), New Guinea, Oceania

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