ANON1896P10F5

Title: Photo of a Queensland message stick from "The message sticks" (1896)

Description: Photo of two facets of one message stick (5) on pp. 10-11 of “The message sticks.” (1896)

Message: It is placed in a tree or stump known to friends, to warn them that the camp has been deserted by the tribe on account of the approach of enemies, and it informs friends that similar sticks with leaves in, to conceal them, have been placed in the ground, with poisoned bones sticking up, just above the ground, so that when the enemies arrive they will tread on them, and are poisoned. (p. 11)

Date Created: 1870

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: image of a message stick (artefact missing)

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: QLD

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Gabalbara Austlang: E45 - Gabulbarra

Notes on linguistic areas: This artefact, among the others from the same source, was obtained from "a tribe of aborigines inhabiting the country watered by the Conner's River, on the eastern coast of Queensland" (p. 10). We assume that "Conner's River" is intended to be "Connors River". The Connors River basin coincides with Gabalbara. Other groups, such as Mambura are on tributaries of Connors River. However, the source also provides Indigenous terms for message stick associated with the creators of each object which may help to narrow down the field. The Indigenous term given to this message stick is "Tul'abulga". The Chirila database includes the following potential cognates: tulpi= talk sticks, used for tapping out messages and for keeping time at dances, certain ones are used for tapping out messages to the dead (Where strange paths go down) (Pirriya or Mayawali) dhulu = message stick (Gamilaraay) Gamilaraay is too distant, but Mayawali and Pirriya area possibility.

Term for 'message stick' (or related) in language: tulapulka ("Tul'abulga")

Semantic domains: sd_person_enemy, sd_trap, sd_warning

Sources:

Anonymous. 1896. “The message sticks.” The Australasian Anthropological Journal 1 (1):10-11.

Collector: Mr. A. H. Fox, of the Bank of New South Wales, Taralga, brother of the gentleman who obtained them [sticks] from the aborigines (p. 10)

Coordinates: 22°33'41.605200"S,149°02'38.457600"E  (-22.561557, 149.044016)

Notes on coordinates: Chirila centroid coordinates for Gabalbara

Media Files:

Data Entry: Olena Tykhostup, Piers Kelly