RMV1321_35

Title: A Ngarluma message stick held in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde

Description: Briefstok, message stick; Gnalluma people, Sherlock river. "Briefstokje (cugina) bestaande uit een flauw gebogen bruinhouten staf met ingesneden versiering, in de vorm van groeven. Cugina, invitationstick; of dark brown, yellow flamed wood; both ends pointed and both sides convex, but one more than the other; the latter with numerous transverse grooves, and with three or four diagonal grooves between every two of them, the whole surface reticulated by very feeble incision. Gnalluma-tribe, Sherlock-river? 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 1321-33] 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" Original Dutch card file from RMV (RMV1321_35-IK_1321-35.JPG): Korte aanduiding: briefstokje (Cugina) Beschrijving:flauw gebogen bruinhoten staf met geelbruine kanten, beide zijden convex, de een minder di dan de ander en met ingesneden versiering, in de vorm van dwarse groeven op tamelijk regelmatige afstanden, die onderlang aan elkaar verbonden zijn door een aantal schuinse groeven, terwijl in de tussenruimte vele nauwlijks zichtbare lijntjes zijn ingegrift. [...] Herkomst: W. Australie Gnalluma stam Sherlock rivier Verwerving: aankoop E. Clement te Carshalton Engeland, sept. 1901.

Date Created: 1901

Notes on date created: ca.

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: WA

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Ngarluma Austlang: W38 - Ngarluma Glottolog: ngar1287

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Western Australia, Gnalluma people, Sherlock river.

Cultural region: Pilbara

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

Dimension 1: 630mm Dimension 2: 38mm

Materials: wood

Source types: museum collection

Institution/Holder file: Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde object identifier: RMV 1321-35

Coordinates: 21°23'4.200000"S,117°03'48.499200"E  (-21.3845, 117.063472)

Media copyright: Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde

Notes on coordinates: Ngarluma linguistic area per Bowern’s Google Earth coordinates map. Gnalluma = Ngarluma.

URL institution: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/694168

URL source 1: https://archive.org/details/international16inte

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman