The Asmat Pokman Festival reflects the spirit of the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church, says the bishop
A wood carver is seen busy at his work during a carving festival in the Asmat district of Indonesia's Papua region organized by the Agats-Asmat Diocese on Oct. 6-12. (Photo supplied)
By Ryan Dagur
A Catholic diocese in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region organized a cultural festival to help an indigenous tribal group in the promotion and sales of their famous wooden carvings and sculptures.
The Asmat Pokman Festival, held on Oct. 6-12, was organized by Agats-Asmat Diocese in collaboration with the Asmat district government after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 590 artists participated in the festival and 200 wood carvings and 60 woven sculptures were successfully auctioned off to visitors that fetched more than 2.243 billion rupiah (US$ 145,375), according to the organizing committee.
A 15 meters-long and 50 centimeters wide ironwood carving by carver Isaias Asmakap that depicts the daily life of the Asmat people was sold for the highest price of 35,000,000 rupiah.
Franciscan Bishop Aloysius Murwito thanked the participants and visitors for making the festival a success and expressed delight as funds raised from the event increased by one billion rupiah since the last one held in 2019.
“Thanks to all of us. We will continue to maintain this good brotherhood in Asmat," said the prelate.
Elisa Kambu, head of Asmat district, said that they will continue to collaborate with the Church to protect the cultural heritage of Asmat.
One such move was the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights to protect the intellectual property of the Asmat artists during this year’s festival.
With this protection, he said, there is an acknowledgment of the copyright of their works.
Jhony Banua Rouw, chairman of the Papua Provincial parliament, said he hopes that the government and the church will continue the efforts to market the works of the artists more by utilizing digital media and it should not be limited to this festival only.
The annual festival, first held in 1981, was the brainchild of American Holy Cross Bishop Alphonsus Augustus Sowada, the diocese's first bishop, and an anthropologist.
Bishop Murwito, a Javanese, said that from the beginning this festival was part of the Church's efforts to appreciate the culture of the Asmat people, where it was present, reflecting the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.
“The gospel is still preached to everyone, but not by rejecting and turning a blind eye to the presence of the local community with their culture. Instead, the church opens eyes and hearts and is willing to learn from the local culture," he said.
He said respecting the culture, as the Bishop of Sowada and other missionaries and pastoral workers in the region have pointed out, is done so that "evangelical values can truly reach the people."
“The gospel is proclaimed through and within the local culture so that the Church is not alienated from society,” said the bishop, who served the diocese since 2002.
Since 2007, the diocese has prioritized respect for culture as part of its pastoral plan and as a part of it, special study days for Asmat culture are organized every year.
"All pastoral workers attend, and study certain subjects related to evangelism in Asmat land which involve elements of culture and the gospel," he said.
Asmat people are an ethnic group from New Guinea who reside in Papua of Indonesia. Their life and livelihood heavily depend on natural resources in the forests, rivers, and seas. The Asmat woodcarvings are acclaimed globally.
The Asmat tribe is the majority in the diocese which covers an area of 37,000 square kilometers, mostly swamp and forest, that comprises the whole of Asmat district and a small part of Mappi district, both in Papua region.
The Agats-Asmat Diocese has 58,781 Catholics spread over 14 parishes, 3 quasi-parishes, and 80 mission stations. It is based in Agats town, the capital of Asmat district, about 3,400 kilometers east of the national capital Jakarta.
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