| Coordinates WGS84 | 12°15'S, 136°54'E -12.25, 136.89 |
SAM_A_60347
Title: A message stick from Northern Territory held in the South Australian Museum
Description: Incised wooden message stick from the South Australian Museum A message stick made by Matarman at Yirrkala and sent to his brother, Malarapan, in Darwin, requesting items
Message: «Bring me back from Darwin white shirts khaki shirts, a blue coat, belts, knives, shorts, long white trousers a hat. Bring my wife hair oil, combs, a looking-glass, belts,dresses, a singlet and a pair of scissors.»
From: Matarman at Yirrkala
To: His brother Malarapan in Darwin
Via: C. P. Mountford Date: 1948
Mountford (1956): Fig. 67D, G illustrates a message stick Matarman, at Yirrkalla, asked me to deliver to his brother, Malarapan, in Darwin.
On Fig. 67 D is the figure of Malarapan, the recipient. The meanings for the various lines are: a, two white shirts; b, two khaki shirts; c, one blue coat; d, two belts; e, two knives; f, two khaki shorts; g, two long white trousers; and h, a hat. The border of short lines is decoration.
The symbols on Fig. 67G (on which the figure of Matarman, the sender, is engraved) indicate the goods required by Matarman's wife: j, two bottles of hair oil; k, two combs; l, a looking-glass; m, two small belts; n, two dresses; o, a singlet; p, two belts, white; q, two more small belts; r, a pair of scissors. The zigzag lines, s, t, u, w, x, z, are 'asking' marks. p469
Creator of Object: sender: Matarman messenger: C. P. Mountford recipient: Malarapan
Date Created: 1948
Notes on date created: Year of American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land
Item type: message stick in a collection
Subtype: traditional
State/Territory: NT
Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Dhangu Austlang: N192 - Dhangu Glottolog: dhan1270
Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia. Dhangu is extrapolated from Yirrkala.
Cultural region: TopEnd_arnhem_east
Materials: wood
Source types: museum collection
Date collected: Date registered: 25. Feb 1970
Institution/Holder file: The South Australian Museum object identifier: A-60347
Collector: Purchased from: Mountford, Charles P.
Place collected: Yirrkala
Coordinates: 12°15'10.000800"S,136°53'30.001200"E (-12.252778, 136.891667)
Media copyright: The South Australian Museum
Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Yirrkala
Notes: AR: SAM register notes: "Arnhemland, Art, Myth and symbolism", p 472 DG. Coll CPM Y65." 11.02.2026 PK: Previously CPM1956P472F67_DG Mountford wrote that "Whilst at Yirrkalla and Oenpelli I had to fly to Darwin several times on expedition matters. Each time I went one or more aborigines have me message sticks to deliver to their friends at Darwin. My procedure (after I had made a record of the message stick either by a sketch or a rubbing) was to write the meanings of the various symbols on a sheet of paper, wrap the paper round the message stick and enclose it in an envelope, on the outside of which I wrote the name of the recipient as a guide to my memory. When I delivered the message stick, which I did on all but two occasions, I was able to explain to the recipient the significance of the marks on the message stick by referring to my notes. Figure designed by Jean Truran 14.02.2026 PK: Note that the 'asking marks' are pseudowriting. They cannot uniquely signal request (since this is the kind of speech act that is always signalled). Are they specifying a specific request for colonial goods associated with writing, eg, on packaging?
Media Files:
Data Entry: Olena Tykhostup, Piers Kelly, Alexandra Roginski