IDNO

P.85666.ACH2

Description

On Catalogue Card for duplicate print P.251.ACH1: “Armed circle.”

A group of men and boys participating in the knocking out of teeth ceremony as part of the initiation of boys into manhood.
The ceremony takes place in a cleansed site during the hottest time of the summer.
Here, a group of armed Aboriginal men banishing spears, clubs, and shields, encircle the boys awaiting the knocking out of their left, right or sometimes both incisors of their upper jaw. To the right a man is pulling another of the candidates from his family's side to join the group of boys. Once all the boys are in the centre of the circle, they sit down cross-legged with their heads bowed to their chests and their hands folded in their laps. [See Blandowski 1862, pl. 82 and 83]

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Victoria; Darling River; Murray River

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Muetzel, Gustav [Artist]

Collector / Expedition

von Blandowski, William [Blandowski Expedition to the Lower Murray River, 1857]

Date

1861; 1862

Collection Name

Haddon Collection

Source

?Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Print Black & White

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.85635. to P.85723. were tied together in a bundle.

Bibliographical Reference: Blandowski, William von, 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen (Unpublished), with the caption “Aborigines of Australia, Plate 215. William v. Blandowski. Armed Circle”. The image is signed “G.M.61”. [JD 23/8/2007]

Bibliographical Reference: For discussion of authorship see: Allen, H. 2006. Authorship and ownership in Blandowski's Australien in 142 Photographischen Abbildungen. Australasian Historical Archaeology 24:31-37. [Jane Lydon, Monash University, 8/7/2009]

CUMAA Exhibition: P.84112.ACH2 to P.85713.ACH2 were on display in the SSL as part of the Brook Andrew ‘The Island’ Exhibition, 24th June - 27th September 2008. [JD 25/6/2008]

Publication: Blandowski, W. 1862. Australien in 142 Photographischen Ahbildungen. Gustav Neumann, Gleiwicz. Edited by Harry Alien. Translated from the German by Lillian Barton. Translation Copyright: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2007. with the caption:
“82. and 83. The hottest time of the summer at the end of January and beginning of February is when the boys have the characteristic ceremony of manhood, the knocking out of the left, right or sometimes both incisors of the upper jaw. Fig. 82 shows the healthy and deformed upper jaws. People come from near and far. Armed warriors, painted with symmetrical clay figures on their heads and lower bodies, select an especially cleansed area for the ritual. The boy candidates who stand opposite the doctor with their families, are pulled out of the crowd by the doctors early in the morning, and amid weird sounds and the clashing of weapons are carried into the centre of the circle screaming loudly. The men close up the circle and all the boys sit down in a row with their legs crossed in the Turkish manner, their heads bowed to their chests and their hands folded in their laps. Drawing by G. Mützel.” [WV 2/4/2009]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 23/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Aboriginal Visual Histories Project, Monash University. [Wonu Veys 2/4/2009]