Art History (world of art) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Art History (world of art) - Essay Example Much of their art includes actual human skulls. It is customary for the Asmat to keep the skulls of their enemies once they have killed them. The Asmat even named their children after enemies which they have killed. The Asmat are also known for using human skulls to rest their heads on at night, instead of pillows. The Asmat do, however, consider wood to be very sacred. The reason for this is that they believe that they actually arose or came from wood. They are known in addition to being cannibals as being magnificent word carvers. Much of their art is derived from wood or carved into wood thus honoring their belief system of the sanctity of wood. One piece in particular known as Korvar, is a wood carving depicting what looks like a small human-like deity with a large head. This could be considered to be a deity of wood or an embodiment of the sacred wood that the Asmat held as sacred. The face of the carving is less human-like than the body. It has almost a bill-like mouth and undefined eyes. Carvings of the Papua Gulf tribes (Kerewa) included agibas (essentially a skull rack). These agibas were used to hang human skulls for display. The skulls were often decorated with shells, seeds and other organic materials. One agibas could be used to hold hundreds of skulls belonging to one clan or tribal segment. Often the agibas would be fashioned into human appearance or a pair of humans. The Kerewa of the Papua Gulf truly embraced cannibalism and â€Å"head hunting† as a way of life. The fact that they had artifacts which were hand carved specifically for the purpose of displaying the skulls of their enemies serves to emphasize this. Among Native North Americans, the belief in spirit guides was not only a sense of spirituality but a way of life. It was believed that spirit guides granted certain individuals â€Å"privileges† that could be carried down through generations. For example,