RHH1918P21F6
Title: Sketch of a message stick from Southern Queensland by Hamlyn-Harris (1918)
Description: Sketch of message stick on p. 21, Fig.6, of "On messages and "Message Sticks" employed among the Queensland Aborigines" by R. Hamlyn-Harris: "This stick is an exceptionally interesting one, and it is made of the white gum which grows along watercourses, but is not actually round; it is distinctly marked, and the peculiar diamond-shaped figures with a centre cut (one with two) have undoubted phallic significance, and is the only stick of this kind which has come into our possession".
Message: There are altogether 10 representations of vulva indicating the number of females to be operated upon at the ceremony, and almost 35 straight lines denoting the men, the isolated groupings indicating the number of eligibles from each locality. (p. 21)
Date Created: 1918
Notes on date created: terminus ante quem
Item type: image of a message stick (artefact missing)
Subtype: traditional
State/Territory: QLD
Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with Southern Queensland
Semantic domains: sd_body_vulva, sd_ceremony_law_women, sd_person_group, sd_person_man, sd_person_woman, sd_place
Dimension 1: 119mm Dimension 2: 14mm
Materials: white gum
Sources:
URL source 1: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47577#page/53/mode/1up
Notes: The commentary on this object suggests that it came to Hamlyn-Harris via Roth. It looks similar to WER1897PXVIIIF334 but the lack of tapering and thinner diameter suggest it is different.
Media Files:
Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly