SAM_A_27213

Title: A message stick from South Australia held in the South Australian Museum

Description: Message stick with 5 burnt designs from the South Australian Museum AR: A note in the remarks column of SAM register alongside 27213 and 27214 states: "nn. 'alidi. no message – a passport carried by a native selected to announce a ceremony. (Name is Jamo [?] as is borne by Pittosporum wood".

Date Created: 1939

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Mirniny Austlang: A9 - Mirning

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is North of Ooldea, South Australia. But see note below from register ("N. B. Tindale met Wiraŋu people returning from the ceremonies"). Also note that Pittosporum is endemic to Qld Language is uncertain and inferred from geography. Could also be Wirangu or any number of languages that met at the Ooldea Mission station The "Ooldea tribe" is nonetheless analysed as Mirniny. (Note, however, that Mirniny turns up twice in Chirila. One is over on the western edge of the Nullabor near Caiguna. The other is further east near Eucla. The Eucla Mirniny is the one referred to here.) We have assumed that "Ooldea tribe" is (eastern) Mirniny on the basis of the fact that the Ooldea soak is in this area at 30°24'29.0"S 131°49'42.0"E and the mission settlement is here: 30° 27′ 32.9″ S, 131° 50′ 8.21″ E. Tindale also refers to "Miming man of Ooldea who went to Esperance by train and found friendly southern people there". Note that the Ooldea settlement was used as a base for constructing the railroad. Harald wrote: "For doculects that that referred to as Mirning or the like the corresponding Glottolog variety can be either Kalarko [kala1379] kba Ngadjunmaya [ngad1258] nju It's debatable whether there should be a separate variety with that name. Mirning is also the name of a subgroup" Claire wrote: "So it looks like Glottolog includes 2 western Mirning languages but not the eastern-most one around Eucla, since the term Ngatjumaya is specifically for Western Mirning? I see in my tree I used "Mirniny", "Ngatjumaya" and "Eucla", and a number of Noongar varieties; I didn't have data for inland varieties."

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Acquisition Date: 13. Jul 1939

Institution/Holder file: The South Australian Museum object identifier: A-27213

Collector: Green, H.E.

Coordinates: 30°24'29.001600"S,131°49'41.998800"E  (-30.408056, 131.828333)

Media copyright: The South Australian Museum

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Ooldea Soak, north of Ooldea

Notes: Letter from Harrie E Green, Superintendent of the United Aborigines Mission, Ooldea, to the Acting Museum Director, 7 July 1939: Dear Sir, We have yours of 13 June 1939, and have selected a number of specimens which we think will be very suitable for a museum display. The lists herewith name and describe the articles which have been forwarded today by both post and rail. Herewith please find the account for same. If there are any of these things that you do not need, please hand them in to our office at 66 Birie St, city and notify us. Your second letter dated 29th June has been noted and will be dealt with during the coming week. Yours Faithfully, H. E. Green (Harrie. E. Green) Supt. Recommended for purchase – data with specimens is very good. —W. Tindale Ethnologist PK 30.01.24: Possible that this is incorrectly labelled as 'restricted' in SAM database. PK to ask SAM for evidence of consultation for this status. AR: A note in the remarks column of SAM register alongside 27213 and 27214 states: "nn. 'alidi. no message – a passport carried by a native selected to announce a ceremony. (Name is Jamo [?] as is borne by Pittosporum wood". PK: In entry 27209 of original registers (at the start of where H. E. Green's contribution begins) is the note: "N27209—Series of objects brought into Ooldea + used during initiation rites held during May-June 1939. N. B. Tindale met Wiraŋu people returning from the ceremonies – travelling near Nullarbor Stn late in June"

Media Files:

Data Entry: Olena Tykhostup, Piers Kelly, Alexandra Roginski