IDNO

P.85668.ACH2

Description

On Catalogue Card for duplicate print P.253.ACH1: “Public ceremony. Manticod. Shows ? the ? figure granted to them ... and supposed to present the ... of the dingo.”

A public tooth knocking out ceremony with seven Aboriginal men wearing body paint and a belt made out of human hair with a boomerang stuck in it. They are walking on heir hands and feet around the boys who are sitting in a semicircle. The boomerang is turned upwards to imitate the tail of a dingo in a circle, possibly to present the totem? of the dingo, an animal known for its cleverness, caution boldness, endurance and bloodthirstiness and for being a weather prophet that shows the coming rain by kicking up the dust with its hind feet. The whole procedure is are quest to the boys to adopt the dingo's characteristics. Two men holding spear and shields stand in the foreground and a group of spectators are in the background. [JD 23/8/2007] [WV 3/4/2009]

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

1860; 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 Australien in 142 Photographischen (Unpublished), with the caption “Aborigines of Australia, Plate 146?. William v. Blandowski, Australia. Public ceremony. Manticod. Shows ? the ? figure granted to them ... and supposed to present the ... of the dingo”. The image is signed “G.M.60”. [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:
“85. The next morning, the men who will do the operation, dressed only in a belt made out of enemy hair with the boomerang stuck in it, walk on their hands and feet around the young boys who are sitting in a semi-circle. The boomerang is turned upwards to imitate the tail of the dingo, an animal known for its cleverness, caution boldness, endurance and bloodthirstiness and for being a weather prophet that shows by kicking up the dust with its hind feet, the coming rain. The whole procedure is are quest to the boys to adopt the dingo's characteristics.” [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]