RMV1321_33

Title: A message stick held in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde

Description: Briefstok, message stick (Gugina) "Briefstokje (cugina), vergelijkbaar met no. 1321-32, maar groter en van geelbruin hout vervaardigd. Versierd met meander- en kruisvormige motieven. Cugina, invitationstick; elliptic slat of yellowish brown wood; back convex, front flat and, with exception of the one end, grooved; pattern of the ornament meanderlike. Gnamo-tribe, Nullagine-district. All the tribes of N. W. Australia practise cirumcision. When the boys are about 14 years old, an Invitation-stick (gilliana or cugina, [see No's: 1321-32 and 1321-35] is carried round from family to family, scattered over the territory of the tribe at the various waterholes and hunting grounds, and a meeting-place is appointed upon a certain new-moon, to which men, women and children repair. In a month's time, (the next new-moon) the whole tribe has assembled, and on a given signal by one of the elders, the candidates for circumcision are suddenly pounced" Description from original Dutch RMV card file: "Korte aanduiding: briefstokje (cugina) [PK: Note that "(cugina)" is added in handwritten form, the rest is typescript]. Beschrijving: als No. 32, doch groter en van geelbruin hout vervaadigd, de versierde zijde bijna effen, het ornament vormt nabij het ene niet versierde einde een meander met vier kreuzen, aan de ander helft kruisvormige figuren met naar boven en onder gebogen ein-den der balken. zie foto; [...] Herkomst: W. Australie Gnamo-stam, Nullague [sic] Verwerving: aankoop E. Clement te Carsahlton Engeland, sept. 1901." Clement (1904): "192. Cugina, invitationstick; elliptic slat of yellowish brown wood; back convex, front flat and, with exception ofthe one end, grooved; pattern of the ornament meanderlike. Lg. 53, br. 7,3 CM. [Inv. No. 1321/33]. Grnamo-tribe, Nullagine-district. Pl. IV, fig. 2"

Date Created: 1901

Notes on date created: ca.

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Nyamal Austlang: A58 - Nyamal Glottolog: nyam1271

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

Cultural region: Pilbara

Term for 'message stick' (or related) in language: kukina ("cugina", "gugina") kilyana ("gilliana")

Dimension 1: 530mm Dimension 2: 73mm

Materials: wood

Source types: museum collection

Institution/Holder file: Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde object identifier: RMV 1321-33

Coordinates: 21°18'2.599200"S,119°42'33.098400"E  (-21.300722, 119.709194)

Media copyright: Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde

Notes on coordinates: Chirila centroid coordinates for Nyamal

URL institution: https://volkenkunde.nl/collections/record.aspx?so=H4sIAAAAAAAEAO29B2AcSZYlJi9tynt_SvVK1-B0oQiAYBMk2JBAEOzBiM3mkuwdaUcjKasqgcplVmVdZhZAzO2dvPfee--999577733ujudTif33_8_XGZkAWz2zkrayZ4hgKrIHz9-fB8_In6NX_PX-DV-jf-bHvzE8xv9WvTPt49Xq9__pJrl40l-MX07zYtR-pN53RTV8rOdMf83Sk_WZbuu88-W-bqts3KUvlxPymL6e-XXb6q3-fKz5bosf12A_Y1e51k9nX85-el82v5W9MFv-Ps3_MmbvF78xr__uimWF_Jl8xvKX0-q6m3zm8jvx9SwuMzNV1_ksyLTl54WF8VqPfnN5a-TqiwJBuHY_Hq__3lRN-1vpP08K_Jy9uv-_pdFfvUb__6rOr8sqnWDv37d37-p6vbX12a_-e_fVqvP8-qizs6L_AUN_zfFJzzOdW3_frZeUi_8_W-CvwV1-XNaLVZl_k4G_Bv-_u08b-T334i-sugZWv-avw49vyY9v_av_Wv_mvz8Br_l2bLN62VWNp_8JCH45nqVN5iRoc9_K_f5axrKl_WMpqn7hRCbXsEXf8iv-fq6afPF2KPX-PN8mdfFdPy8aNo_YPd73zvxxyEDHKXfFFN8__u3wuF1ARzeEAmzdb1uQOBvEoc_8BYouO--eRpgLn69Xxtc8C2Z-y-JLX4MH_y6_wfJY2zCwTe__mVWrvPf__f_NX4DAMD_f81fTc3_DxXhX_d_p1-iTNF_Gc-v-6s67S2vxNv_er8B_fObfvmTX4yPj4_p_yf4-ev9GNrKh09-vcT9cfLr_Ybuj89_7DeiP37sN8Y_vwn98-vgz1txws8yN4Lmv97vXxAWDSmE4gf5b_D7XwqkX-fX-DV-60jn3-PJ-w1-gx_7TZUqoNWvg4Hdajg_y4y9eTiRzu1wfrNfQzgK__91MEU_1zKycSi_RbdnO47fXKcFz6_Pc2Q07q_zW0amE2_9-hi7zCM3i5AJzX7st8A_vyX98xv_Wr_-b25eYci_WRcdtP910X4I2K_7-y_pt1_39yfZW_yavybrA7aOnnT9er81ffAbfDnNs2Xxj_61vyY6Zgx-AzT-bemf5HjdgID07W_4_wAku96MzAcAAA2

Notes: PK: This has a tjurunga-like appearance

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly