New research has shed light on the group suspected of ‘eating’ millionaire Michael Rockefeller during the 1960s.
Michael Rockefeller, the son of former US Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller, was 23 years old when he ventured to an isolated part of New Guinea, aiming to study the Asmat region and its inhabitants.
His first visit to the region was to photograph the tribe, but in 1961, he returned with Dutch anthropologist René Wassing.
During their journey to the island, their boat capsized about 12 miles from the shore, putting them in a precarious situation.
Rockefeller assured Wassing he could ‘make it’ to the shore, but unfortunately, he was never seen again.
The island’s community, which Rockefeller was heading towards, is known for their sacrificial and ritual practices, including ‘headhunting,’ a practice that only ceased in the 1990s.
This ritual involved the Asmat people hunting their enemies, decapitating them, and using their skulls as pillows or bowls.
Ritual documentation from the time of Rockefeller’s disappearance described the tribe’s method of slitting the subject from the neck down and removing the entrails.
The arms and legs of the subject would be roasted on a fire, shared among tribe members for tasting, and their blood would be smeared on their bodies.
Carl Hoffman, the author of Savage Harvest, which explores Rockefeller’s disappearance, stated: “If they’d killed Michael that was how it would have been done.”
A 2017 article from The Guardian mentioned that after the headhunting ceased, men in the tribe found themselves with little to occupy their time, while women continued caring for children and collecting food and firewood.
Farming is not feasible in the region, forcing the residents to gather and hunt food from the forest and ocean.
The tribe also observes a tradition called the ‘resurrection feast,’ where they honor the spirits of their ancestors.
According to Dive Concepts Bali, the Asmat people, one of Papua New Guinea’s largest tribes, have inhabited the mangrove forests for thousands of years.
Their population is estimated to be around 70,000, spread across several hundred villages.
Dive Concepts Bali also notes that the Asmat believe they originated from wood, a belief they honor by maintaining a close relationship with trees and creating art from bark.
Following Rockefeller’s disappearance, a massive search was conducted, but ultimately, the Dutch interior minister declared that there was ‘no longer any hope of finding Michael Rockefeller alive’.