Asmat, Casuarina Coast in Indonesia

People Name:	Asmat, Casuarina Coast
Country:	Indonesia
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	14,000
World Population:	14,000
Primary Language:	Asmat, Casuarina Coast
Primary Religion:	Christianity
Christian Adherents:	60.00 %
Evangelicals:	4.00 %
Scripture:	New Testament
Ministry Resources:	Yes
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	New Guinea
Affinity Bloc:	Pacific Islanders
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

By occupation they are primarily farmers, fishermen, hunters, loggers and wood-carvers. They also search for and gather aloe (resin) in the coastal swamps. With their land at an altitude of less than 100 meters above sea level the Asmat, Casuarina Coast people can best be accessed by boat. The nearest airstrip is in Kamur which is serviced intermittently by Merpati.

The Asmat, Casuarina Coast speakers are sometimes known as the Kaweinag people. With their own family the Asmats use the Asmat, Casuarina Coast language and they use both the Indonesian and Asmat, Casuarina Coast languages with their friends.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The clothing people wear is generally modern but in some villages the children don't wear any clothes. The people eat sago, fish, bananas and other fruit, as well as hunt animals. The Asmat, Casuarina Coast people have tools like machetes, steel axes, bow and arrows, and shovels. Some houses are built on stilts with leaf roofs, sago branch floor, and sago stem walls. If salty sea water floods inland (as it often does) the Asmats depend on the sometimes scarce rain for drinking. They sometimes boil the water they get from their wells or the river. Malaria, diarrhea, respiratory and skin infections are common. The Asmats would like money for education, boat and generator motors. The Asmat, Casuarina Coast people have no gospel cassettes, film or videos in their language.

What Are Their Beliefs?

It is estimated that less than half of the Asmat, Casuarina Coast speakers have understood the gospel but there are three Bible fellowship churches and a number of Catholic churches in the area.