UQAM7678

Title: A message stick made by Mawalan 1 Marika inviting the djunggayi of the Yirritja moiety to attend the Djang'kawu (goanna) ceremony

Description: Message stick. Physical Description: Rectangular message stick with 'handles' on either end - a smaller width, and no carving. Both faces are slightly convex towards the lateral edges. All faces, including lateral edges, are carved - a banded pattern of small squares on the faces, and squares and chevrons on the lateral edges. A goanna is carved on either face, facing opposite directions. '7678' is written on the handles. 157mm length, 25mm width, 10mm max breadth.

Message: «Come to the Djaŋ’kawu ceremony» From: Mawalan 1 Marika Sent: Unknown To: the Yirritja djuŋgayi of the ŋärra' Subject: summons UQAM's website: "Attributed to Mawalan 1 Marika. Message sticks were made by the organisers of a Ngarra ceremony and then sent out to djunggayi, managers of the opposite Yirritja moiety, inviting them to attend the ceremony associated with the Djang'kawu. This depicts the Djang'kawu goanna. (reference: Yalangbara, Art of the Djang'kawu [exhibition catalogue] 2008 pg 90)." West (2008): "Message sticks were made by the organisers of a Ngarra ceremony and then sent out to djunggayi, managers of the apposite Yirritia moiety, inviting them to attend the ceremony associated with the Djang'kawu. This depicts the Djang'kawu goanna." p90

Creator of Object: Mawalan 1 Marika (c1908-1967)

Date Created: 1967

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: NT

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Yirrkala Mission, East Arnhem region, Northern Territory, Australia

Cultural region: TopEnd_arnhem_east

Dimension 1: 157mm Dimension 2: 25mm Dimension 3: 10mm

Materials: wood

Sources:

West, Margie, ed. 2008. Yalangbara: Art of the Diang'kawu. Darwin: Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Unknown

Institution/Holder file: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum object identifier: 7678

Collector: Collected by: Miss Audrey Fielding Sourced by: Miss Fleming

Coordinates: 12°15'10.101600"S,136°53'10.701600"E  (-12.252806, 136.886306)

Media copyright: The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Yirrkala Mission, NT, per Google maps

URL institution: https://catalogue.anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/?record=ecatalogue.7678

Notes: UQ Anthropology Museum website: "Attributed to Mawalan 1 Marika. Message sticks were made by the organisers of a Ngarra ceremony and then sent out to djunggayi, managers of the opposite Yirritja moiety, inviting them to attend the ceremony associated with the Djang'kawu. This depicts the Djang'kawu goanna. (reference: Yalangbara, Art of the Djang'kawu [exhibition catalogue] 2008 pg 90)." 07.02.2026 PK: Source of image is West, Margie, ed. 2008. Yalangbara: Art of the Diang'kawu. Darwin: Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. For an account of the relevant ceremony, and the goanna design, see page 124. For a biography of Mawalan 1 Marika see page 163

Media Files:

Data Entry: Nitzan Rotman, Piers Kelly