Once every year, and always in collaboration with the Regional Government of Agats Regency in South Papua Province, Indonesia, the Diocese of Agats holds its annual cultural celebration known as the Asmat Pokman Festival (FAP). FAP is recognized as the oldest art and cultural festival in Papua, the large island at the easternmost tip of Indonesia, which, since the 2022 regional expansion, has been divided into six provinces for the purpose of equitable development and improved public services.
Bishop Alphonse A. Sowada OSC
According to John Ohoiwirin, current Head of the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress, FAP was first held in 1981, initiated by Bishop Alphonse August Sowada OSC (1933–2014).
He was a missionary priest of the Crosier Order from Minnesota, a sociologist, and the first bishop of the Diocese of Agats. In 1961, he earned a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the Catholic University of America. The following year, 1962, he became a missionary serving the Asmat people in the Agats region of southwestern Papua, New Guinea – even before Papua officially became Indonesian territory on May 1, 1963.
He taught himself the Asmat language, worked to abolish headhunting practices, and preserved Asmat culture and art. He founded a church in Sawa Erma on the Unir River. On May 29, 1969, he was appointed Bishop of Agats, and he was ordained on November 29, 1969. As the new prelate of the Diocese, Bishop Sowada strongly opposed the exploitation and cultural suppression of the Asmat people by foreign logging companies and the military.
A well-known collector and preserver of Asmat cultural artifacts, Bishop Sowada helped establish both:
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The Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress in Agats, and
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The American Museum of Asmat Art is in his native state of Minnesota.
His deep interest in Asmat art also led to friendships with fellow collectors and archivists such as Michael Rockefeller and artist Tobias Schneebaum, who once described Sowada as having a “round, cherubic face” and said, “I liked him immediately.”
Bishop Sowada retired in 2001 and returned to the United States. His collection of Asmat artifacts became the foundation of the American Museum of Asmat Art, which, since 2012, has been located at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He also co-edited the 2002 book Asmat: Perception of Life in Art, documenting the museum’s collections.
The Asmat Pokman Festival (FAP)
The first festival, designed by the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress, has since grown into an annual event organized by the Diocese of Agats in collaboration with the Asmat Regency Government.
“This festival is not just an art celebration, but also a space for the Asmat people to showcase their traditions, woodcarving, weaving, music, and rituals. More than that, FAP has become a cultural resistance against external pressures that once eroded Asmat traditional values,” explained Mr. John Ohoiwirin to RVA.
In the Asmat language, “Pok” means work, and “man” means hand. Thus, “Pokman” means handmade creations of the Asmat people of South Papua.
Reviving Endangered Asmat Traditions
During his visit to Kampung Ayam District in June 1962, Bishop Sowada made a shocking discovery:
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Asmat youth were abandoning their ancestral woodcarving traditions, dismissing them as “old-fashioned.”
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The situation worsened with the arrival of the Imex logging company and Dutch government policies that exploited forests for timber, leaving fewer materials for carvings.
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As a result, Asmat cultural heritage was increasingly marginalized.
Seeing this, Bishop Sowada and Mr. Abraham Kuruwaip, then curator of the Asmat Museum, initiated various cultural revitalization efforts. One breakthrough was the Carving Competition, which encouraged a new generation of Asmat carvers while preserving cultural identity.
Mr. Albertus Istiarto, a former Crosier priest who served in Agats (1981–1985), told RVA that the Church’s stance often clashed with the interests of civil–military powers exploiting timber without fair compensation for locals. “At one point, while I was working in Agats, I was interrogated in the provincial capital Jayapura, because the Diocese sided with the Asmat people,” he recalled.
Present Day
Through exhibitions and festivals, the story of Asmat resilience is kept alive. FAP now serves as an educational and interactive platform, reinforcing awareness of cultural preservation and redefining the museum not merely as a storage place for artifacts but as a living space of culture.
According to John Ohoiwirin, FAP has four main objectives:
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To serve as an interactive promotional medium, presenting both visual and narrative information on the festival’s journey.
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To build and present a comprehensive narrative on the dynamics of Asmat culture.
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To introduce works of art and historical documentation as integral parts of Papua’s heritage.
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To foster pride and concern for local culture amidst modernization.
With this spirit, FAP not only preserves Asmat woodcarving and ancestral traditions but also safeguards the identity of the Asmat people in today’s changing times.
Cancellation of FAP October 2025
Unfortunately, the 38th FAP, scheduled for the second week of October 2025, had to be cancelled. The decision, signed by Agats Diocese’s Bishop Aloysius Murwito OFM on September 9, 2025, followed an incident of violence against Mr. John Ohoiwirin and Father Lukas Lega Sando Pr on August 16.
The group of artists behind the incident opposed long-standing rules that prohibit carvings already consecrated in ritual ceremonies from being submitted for festival selection. This regulation, in place for decades, exists to protect sacred Asmat carvings believed to embody spiritual presence.
While this year’s cancellation is regrettable, the Diocese and the Asmat Museum remain hopeful that the issues will soon be resolved, so that the festival can continue in the years ahead in its usual spirit, as a living witness to the resilience and creativity of the Asmat people.
(Mathias Hariyadi is a journalist and freelance writer based in Indonesia, who contributes to global Catholic magazines and platforms.)
