| Coordinates WGS84 | 35°49'S, 141°25'E -35.82, 141.42 |
AWH1889P330F8
Title: Sketch of a message stick from Victoria reproduced in two A.W. Howitt's publications (1889, 1904)
Description: Sketch of a message stick fig. 8 in 'Notes on Australian message sticks and messengers' (Howitt 1889) and fig. 5 in 'The native tribes of southeast Australia' (Howitt 1904, p.704).
Message: It conveys a message from the head-man of the Gromillŭk horde, to the people of the Yarik-kŭllŭk horde at Lake Coorong, both being local divisions of the Wotjobaluk tribe. The message invited all the people to come to a corroboree. The notches at (a) represent the sender and his four friends, being the principal men at Gromilluk. The notches at (b) represent the Yari-kuluk people. The notches continuing along the edge to the end on each edge indicates that all the people are to come. The shape of the stick is due to it having [320] been made from a crooked branch of a tree, and is not intentional. (Howitt 1889, p. 321) "Message stick of the Wotjoballuk tribe, Victoria, sent to invite an assembly for corroboree; (a) the sender of the message and four friends, (c) the recipient. The other notches indicate that all the people with (b) are to attend. Half scale." (Howitt 1889, p. 332) "The illustration, Fig. 43, No. 5, represents one of these sticks, which was made to convey an invitation from the Headman of the Gromilluk horde to the Yarik-kulluk horde at Lake Coorong, both being local divisions of the Wotjobaluk tribe. All the people were invited to attend. The three notches at the upper end on the right-hand side show the sender and his friends, who were the principal Gromilluk men. The large notch represents the Yarik-killuk horde and its Headman, to whom the message was sent. The notches continuing along the edge to the end and along the other edge indicate all the people of the horde being invited." (Howitt 1904, p. 697)
Creator of Object: It conveys a message from the head-man of the Gromillŭkhorde, to the people of the Yarik-kŭllŭk horde at Lake Coorong, both being local divisions of the Wotjo-baluk tribe. (Howitt 1889, 320)
Date Created: 1889
Notes on date created: terminus ante quem
Item type: image of a message stick (artefact missing)
Subtype: traditional
State/Territory: VIC
Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Wotjobaluk Austlang: S88 - Wotjobaluk Glottolog: wotj1234
Linguistic area 2: Chirila: Wotjobaluk Austlang: S88 - Wotjobaluk Glottolog: wotj1234
Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with the “Wotjoballuk tribe, Victoria" (Howitt 1889, p.332)/ "Wotjobaluk tribe" (Howitt 1904) "It conveys a message from the head-man of the Gromillŭk horde, to the people of the Yarik-kŭllŭk horde at Lake Coorong, both being local divisions of the Wotjobaluk tribe." (Howitt 1889, p. 321) "This kind of message-stick, called galk, that is, wood or stick, may be seen by any one." (Howitt 1904 p. 698)
Term for 'message stick' (or related) in language: kalk ('galk', meaning wood or stick) (Howitt 1904, p. 698)
Semantic domains: sd_ceremony, sd_person_group, sd_person_recipient, sd_person_sender, sd_request_invitation_ceremony
Sources:
Source types: book chapter, journal article
Coordinates: 35°49'15.762000"S,141°25'4.490400"E (-35.821045, 141.417914)
URL institution: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-26171094
URL source 1: https://archive.org/stream/nativetribesofso00howiuoft#page/696/mode/2up
Media Files:
Data Entry: Piers Kelly