PRM1917_53_297

Title: A message stick held in the Pitt Rivers Museum

Date Created: 1917

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is given simply as “South Australia”. It therefore cannot be associated with a linguistic area.

Dimension 1: 88mm

Materials: wood plant

Techniques: notched

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: By 1917

Institution/Holder file: Pitt Rivers Museum object identifier: 1917.53.297

Collector: Field Collector: Unknown Other Owners: Edward Burnett Tylor PRM Source: Anna Rebecca Tylor Acquired: Donated 1917

Media copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum

URL institution: http://objects.prm.ox.ac.uk/pages/PRMUID145658.html

Notes: Research notes: In Tylor papers PRM ms collections, Howitt 3 Howitt writes: 'In the matter of message sticks I have been at work for a long time. I have secured some which I will send to you. After I have made careful drawings of them for future use. I have not yet found one instance where the marks upon them convey any meaning by the blacks from which [insert] whom [end insert] they have been obtained. They say the marks are only for ornament and that the stick" is more of a token to accredit the messenger. This does not disprove the positive statements made eg by Mr Dawson that in some places the marks have a meaning. So far I cannot find an instance either in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria. Message sticks were not known to or used by the Kurnai. The messenger sometimes carried a boomerang, shield or spear as a token from the sender of the message.' It is therefore possible that these message sticks came from Howitt to Tylor. Letter 4: I must now explain the delay in procuring for you the humming instrument and the fire stick which you expressed a desire to obtain. I have now one tundun (Gippsland) one Bribbun (Queensland) and I expect shortly several others. [2] It is not however easy to procure these as the blackfellows dont like to give them up nor tell let white people see them. I have also a fire drilling apparatus from Queensland; I shall shortly have one belonging to the district and I am promised another from southern Queensland. I hope also to procure others. So soon as I obtain those or others, or find that the delay will be too long I shall send the collection off to you with further particulars. [AP 31/01/2013] Notes in RDF - The following references are given on three short notes: "Leit. Ethnol. XIV, 1882, pl. X" ; "Leite. fur Ethnol. XII, 1880, Taf XIII" ; "Bull. Soc. l'Anthrop. Bruxelles III p.125"." PK: No new info in PRM print-out (2019)

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly