Accession No
Z 27614
Description
Wooden churinga, engraved and coloured with ochre on one side. Churinga are inscribed with sacred designs, which represent a totemic ancestor.
Place
Oceania; Australasia; Australia; ?Western Australia; ?Roebuck Bay
Period
19th Century
Source
Oliver, W. E. (Captain R.N.) [collector and depositor]
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
Z 27614; MAA: ?AR D 1893.16.2
Cultural Affliation
Material
Wood
Local Term
Measurements
Events
Context (CMS Context)
The origin of this artefact is marked in pencil but is indistinct. It was deposited by Captain Oliver
Event Date 28/4/1993
Author: maa
Description (CMS Description)
Wooden churinga, engraved and coloured with ochre on one side. Churinga are inscribed with sacred designs, which represent a totemic ancestor. Aboriginal women and uninitiated boys are forbidden to see them. Their meaning is only fully divulged to men who are initiated into that totem and who are of elder status. Those with a hole bored in one end (stone ones excepted), for the attachment of a cord, are called bullroarers. When whirled round, they produce a characteristic sound believed to be " spirit talk" . This one is probably from Roebuck Bay
Event Date 28/4/1993
Author: maa
Context (CMS Context)
This object originally appears in the Deposit section of the 1893 Annual Report. D 1893.16.1 is noted on the database as a permanent loan.
Event Date 23/7/2014
Author: Rachel Hand
FM:87824
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