IDNO

DG.167257.RPT

Description

A Tiwi man standing in front of a group of painted and shaped wooden tutini, memorial poles for a Pukamani ceremony to honour a deceased person on Melville Island. They are decorated with patterns of lines, crosses, and circles. [KK 04/08/2023]

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Northern Territory; Tiwi Islands; Melville Island; ?Snake Bay

Cultural Affliation

First Nations Australian; Tiwi [historically Aboriginal]

Named Person

Photographer

Poignant, Axel

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1948

Collection Name

Poignant Collection

Source

Poignant, Roslyn

Format

Digital File

Primary Documentation

Other Information

DG.167113.RPT - DG.167351.RPT were located on a blue 'Seagate backup plus' hard drive in a box now numbered C1035/.

DG.167255.RPT - DG.167274.RPT were located in a digital folder named "Melville Island Scans."


Related image: A similar image is in the care of the National Library of Australia with the number 4774633 and the following information: "Pukumani memorial poles, Melville Island, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, October 1948, 1 [picture] / Axel Poignant.
The Tiwi people of Melville Island honour the dead through burial ceremonies known as Pukumani. These ceremonies occur approximately 6 months after the deceased has been buried and include singing, dancing and the erection of carved and painted poles known in the local language as tutini. --Information from reference source.
Donated by Roslyn Poignant, 2010." [source: https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4774633 KK 04/08/2023]