IDNO

P.85667.ACH2

Description

On Catalogue Card for duplicate print P.252.ACH1: “Public ceremony. Removing a bone out of his body with magic.”

A public tooth knocking out ceremony with a group of nine Aboriginal men wearing body paint and dancing in a circle around a tenth man lying on the ground. The man is annotated as “removing a bone out of his body with magic”, which he appears to be holding up in his left hand. The bone was conceiled in his hair earlier. It takes a lot of effort to pull the bone out of the mouth continuously. The ceremonial masket wants to show in this way that the more he suffers, the less pain the boys will have when their teeth get knocked out. [JD 23/8/2007] [WV 2/4/2009]

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

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 Australien in 142 Photographischen (Unpublished), with the caption “Aborigines of Australia, Plate 184. William v. Blandowski, Australia. Public ceremony. Removing a bone out of his body with magic”. [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:
“84. After one of the leaders has writhed and convulsed in the dust andanother one kicked him m the back, he finally pulls a six inch long boneout of his mouth that earlier was concealed in his hair. This often repeatedspectacle involving much effort and sweat, is to show7 the young boys thatthe more the ceremonial master has to suffer, the less they will when theirteeth get knocked out.” [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]