CPM1958P105F7AB

Title: A message stick from Buchanan Island, reproduced by Mountford (1958)

Description: Fig. 7A, B, are two sides of another purunkita, which was sent to the Mudung­kala (eucalytpus tree) totemic group on Buchanan Island (adjacent to the Bathurst Island Mission Station). This purunkita asked for a supply of European goods and food so that the workers" could be paid at the closing rituals of Waniamperi' s pukamuni on Melville Island [PK: See CPM1958P102F5F]. The diamond patterns on Fig. 7A refer to the numbers of men in large the Mudungkala totemic group. On the reverse side (Fig. 7B), the zig-zag line a, is the road between Snake Bay (upper end, h), and Cockle Point, in Apsley Straits (lower end, c). At d, d, is a request for two six-pound bags of sugar; e, for tea;!, sufficient printed calico for a loin cloth; g, three sticks of tobacco; h, a tin of tobacco;j, a pair of trousers; k, a pocket knife, and m, a pipe. The crossed lines at n indicate the camp of Tjamalumpua, the sender of the message stick. " (105-106)

Message: Fig. 7A, B, are two sides of another purunkita, which was sent to the Mudung­kala (eucalytpus tree) totemic group on Buchanan Island (adjacent to the Bathurst Island Mission Station). This purunkita asked for a supply of European goods and food so that the workers" could be paid at the closing rituals of Waniamperi' s pukamuni on Melville Island. The diamond patterns on Fig. 7A refer to the numbers of men in large the Mudungkala totemic group. On the reverse side (Fig. 7B), the zig-zag line a, is the road between Snake Bay (upper end, h), and Cockle Point, in Apsley Straits (lower end, c). At d, d, is a request for two six-pound bags of sugar; e, for tea;!, sufficient printed calico for a loin cloth; g, three sticks of tobacco; h, a tin of tobacco;j, a pair of trousers; k, a pocket knife, and m, a pipe. The crossed lines at n indicate the camp of Tjamalumpua, the sender of the message stick. " (105-106)

Date Created: 1954

Notes on date created: Year of the National Geographic Expedition to Melville Island

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

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: NT

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Tiwi Austlang: N20 - Tiwi Glottolog: tiwi1244

Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with the Mudung­kala (eucalytpus tree) totemic group on Buchanan Island (adjacent to the Bathurst Island Mission Station)

Cultural region: TopEnd_tiwi

Term for 'message stick' (or related) in language: purunkita

Sources:

Charles P. Mountford (1958). The Tiwi: their Art Myth and Ceremony. London Phoenix Melbourne: Georgian House.

Source types: book article

Coordinates: 11°48'38.498400"S,130°39'13.500000"E  (-11.810694, 130.65375)

Notes on coordinates: Coordinates for Buchanan Island

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly