SAM_A_60351

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

Description: Ceremonial message stick made from wood, incised, called 'Djunkgao'. Belongs to the collection of the South Australian Museum; A ceremonial message stick, possibly from Yirrkala or Oenpelli, depicting "Djunkgao" – a mythical man of significance to the region (per Mountford) – by an unidentified maker.

Date Created: 1948

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

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. Linguistic area inferred from Yirrkala. The origin of the message stick is Yirrkala or Oenpelli, Northern Territory. Absolute coordinates for Yirrkala, Northern Territory, per Google maps. Note: Oenpelli, Norhtern territory (12°19'39.0"S 133°03'19.0"E) is located about 650km west of Yirrkala.

Cultural region: TopEnd_arnhem_east

Term for 'message stick' (or related) in language: tyungkaw ('Djunkgao')

Materials: wood

Sources:

Charles P Mountford, 'Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land, 1, Art, Myth and Symbolism' (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1956).

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Date registered: 25. Feb 1970

Institution/Holder file: The South Australian Museum object identifier: A-60351

Collector: Purchased from: Mountford, Charles P.

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: 30.01.24 PK: Possible that this is incorrectly labelled as 'restricted' in SAM database. PK to ask SAM for evidence of consultation for this status. AR: SAM register: "'Arnhemland, Art, Myth and Symbolism', p 474AB. Coll. CPM" 11.02.2026 PK: Previously CPM1956P474F68_AB AR?: This stick does not have accompanying interpretation, unlike most of the other sticks in this section of the book. Nor is it listed among the three from Yirrkala that Mountford "included to indicate additional designs employed on the message sticks of that locality". p. 471. Provenance of Yirkala or Oenpelli is deduced from the caption on the figure. Figure designed by Jean Truran

Media Files:

Data Entry: Olena Tykhostup, Piers Kelly, Alexandra Roginski