ASMAT Bis Pole Seattle art CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14

the two hollowed wood pieces held together with natural fiber cord lashings

it seems to be hard to place in a normal person’s home

the result of the innumerable potlatch ceremonies held over many generations

Masterfully carved by Tlingit artists

ASMAT Bis Pole Seattle art CHAPTER 14Asmat Ancestor Pole, Bis or Bisj Pole, carved wood, pigment, organic material, 14 ft H The Asmat honored their dead with feasts and rituals, which both commemorated the deceased and reminded the living to avenge their deaths. The towering Asmat "bis" poles were made for these funeral feasts. The basic form of the bis is an openwork pole incorporating several ancestor figures and a winglike projection that represents the pole's phallus. In Asmat