29:
149:. Because these relics are considered sacred, their availability is limited to a small number of people. During the early 20th century and before, only initiated males were able to see or touch these sacred objects. Women and uninitiated males were not allowed to touch them or see them, except from a far distance. The tjurunga were kept separately from the rest of the clan in a sacred location that was also unavailable to the uninitiated and women.
181:
were thought to have magical properties. They would be rubbed on the body to confer sacredness onto the subject and to do things such as heal wounds. While tjuringa were useful to the individual, the clan's collective fate was also considered to be tied up with the items. After all, it was the totemic image that provided representation for the group on the tjuringa.
276:
shrieked with pain; the torment was unbearable. I have not forgotten it: the pain was not slight; it was exceedingly great. When the nail had been loosened, he took a sharp opossum tooth, forced it into the living flesh through the base of the thumb-nail, and tore the nail off from behind. Blood spurted over his hand. The man chanted:
208:
of the great ancestor of the totem in question. The body of the ancestor merely undergoes a transmutation into something that will weather all the assaults of time, change and decay. Stone tjurunga were thought to have been made by the ancestors themselves. The wooden tjurunga made by the old men are
220:
In 1933, Strehlow noted that after the advent of white men to
Central Australia, the young men employed by the foreign intruders were watched very closely by the old men of their group. In many cases, unless the young men were outstandingly generous in their gifts towards their elders, no ceremonies
180:
properties of these tjurungas. The ancestor regarded his tjurunga as portions of his own being; and is always worried that strangers might come and rob him of the very essence of his life. Accordingly, legends abound with stories of theft and robbery, and the very fierce vengeance exacted. Tjuringa
152:
While some theorists, such as
Strehlow, have suggested these relics are amongst the very few forms of property which may be owned legitimately by individual persons in Central Australia, Durkheim and Kempe contend that the tjurunga cannot be owned by an individual. For example, Durkheim writes, "As
275:
An old man produced a sharp kangaroo bone (ntjala). He stabbed my thumb with it, pushed the bone deeply underneath the nail. He drew the point out; the rest kept up the chant. He thrust it under the nail in a different place. He gradually loosened the thumbnail. It was slippery with blood. I almost
233:
artists transferred the same symbols and designs found on tjurunga onto painted canvas and board. These early paintings contained the same secret sacred knowledge as found on tjurunga incised boards and stones. This practice only lasted a short time before these secret sacred symbols were hidden by
92:
stone or wooden objects possessed by private or group owners together with the legends, chants, and ceremonies associated with them. They were present among the
Arrernte, the Luritja, the Kaitish, the Unmatjera, and the Illpirra. These items are most commonly oblong pieces of polished stone or
254:
matters; no account of his past experiences could be spoken within the hearing of women and children. His own marriage had to conform to the laws of the group. One day the old men, sitting in a circle, would call him in to sit down in their midst. They began to chant. One man told
Strehlow:
212:
At the time of receiving his tjurunga-body a young man may be twenty-five years of age. He will often be thirty-five or forty years of age before the most sacred chants and ceremonies that are linked with it have passed into his possession. As he grows older and continues to demonstrate his
295:
Nowadays we make a great concession to the young men in our group. We no longer tear off their finger-nails. The price is too high; we give the tjurunga to them at a much lower cost. Besides, the young men of the present generation are no longer hardy enough to endure such
101:
of the group to which it belongs. Tjurunga are highly sacred, in fact, they are considered so sacred that only a few are able to see them and likewise it is considered sacrilegious to publish a picture of them.
250:
The old men would carefully note a young man's conduct. He had to be respectful towards his elders; he had to be attentive to their advice in all things. He would know the value of silence in
546:
documentary in which the
Director of the South Australian Museum tries to return Aboriginal tjurungas to their original communities, along the way exploring their significance and mystery.
184:
The acquisition of sufficient knowledge leading to possession of personal tjurunga was long, difficult and sometimes extremely painful. Practices differed amongst the various groups.
157:, that seems very doubtful. The ceremonies of the Emu belong to all the members of the Emu clan; all can participate in them; they are not the personal property of any member."
221:
or chants of power and importance were handed on to this unworthy younger generation. With the death of the old men such chants and ceremonies passed into oblivion.
217:
clan. Eventually he may become a member of the assembly of senior Lawmen who are honoured trustees for the ancient traditions of the whole clan.
555:
regions are respectfully advised that viewing or displaying images of sacred objects may be considered inappropriate by their communities.
209:
symbolical of the actual tjurunga which "cannot be found". These "man-made" tjurunga were accepted without reservation as sacred objects.
176:
themselves are said to have used them and stored them away as their most treasured possessions. Such myths emphasise the life-holding
160:
In recent decades there have been moves to repatriate these sacred objects from museum collections back to their traditional owners.
578:
327:
229:
Early
Papunya artists like Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa and Anatjari Tjakamarra show tjurunga in their paintings. Other early
28:
77:
583:
242:
from this region like concentric circles, U shapes and wavy lines all come from earlier designs on tjurunga.
106:
suggests that the name "churinga" is normally a noun, but can also be used as an adjective meaning "sacred".
235:
447:
593:
552:
543:
80:
paintings, in ceremonial poles, in ceremonial headgear, in sacred chants and in sacred earth mounds.
509:
Kempe, H. “Vocabulary of the Tribes
Inhabiting the Macdonnell Ranges,” RSSA, v.XIV, 1898 p. 1–54
239:
20:
473:
421:
377:
68:. Tjurunga often had a wide and indeterminate native significance. They may be used variously in
314:
121:
means "that which is personal to me". Kempe argued against this translation and suggested that
49:
325:
all studied tjurunga. Durkheim discusses the nature of tjurunga throughout his seminal work
318:
8:
568:
69:
603:
573:
371:
177:
141:
groups was determined largely by "the conception site" of every individual member of a
94:
588:
322:
313:, who were studying the nature of totemic religion and the sacred. Scholars such as
598:
93:
wood. Some of these items have hair or string strung through them and were named "
539:
536:
Documented sales of
Tjurunga with descriptions collated from online auction sites.
213:
worthiness, he receives an ever-increasing share in the tjurunga owned by his own
189:
138:
53:
448:"Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa | sell Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa| Karpa Mbitjana"
48:, is an object considered to be of religious significance by Central Australian
306:
533:
562:
110:
16:
Object of religious significance to some
Central Australian Aboriginal people
506:, trans. Karen Fields, The Free Press, 1995 (Originally Published in 1912)
185:
474:"Aboriginal art meaning | Meaning of Aboriginal art | Churinga | Tjuringa"
408:
Ceremony Men: Making
Ethnography and the Return of the Strehlow Collection
310:
292:
Then they seized my left hand and removed the thumb-nail in like manner.
142:
251:
193:
73:
393:
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, trans. Karen Fields (1995 ed.)
376:. Translated by Clare, Lilian A. Tr. Unwin Brothers Limited. p.
332:
205:
173:
169:
103:
230:
214:
56:(Aranda, Arunta) groups. The word derives from the Arrernte word
422:"Aboriginal Art of Anatjari Tjakamara Indigenous Australian Art"
259:
The old men seized my hand. They all struck up the chant-verse:
238:
behind veils of dots. Most of the symbols people associate with
192:
groups were put on probation for several years after their last
89:
188:
describes how the men from the Northern, Southern and Western
98:
305:
These sacred relics were of high interest to early European
270:
With fierce eyes, with glowing eyes, they rip off the nail.
146:
264:
With fierce eyes, with glowing eyes, they seize the thumb;
204:
The tjurunga were visible embodiments of some part of the
300:
287:
Blood flows like a river, rushes along like a river.
113:to mean something similar to secret and personal.
369:
560:
523:, Melbourne University Press, 1947. p. 85-6
125:means "great", "powerful", or "sacred" and that
516:, Macmillan, London, 1927. Vol. II, p. 571
281:They rip off the nail, they tear off the nail;
224:
331:(1912). He considered the tjurunga to be an
137:The ownership of sacred tjurunga amongst the
359:. Melbourne University Press. pp. 85–6.
245:
129:did not translate into personal ownership.
514:The Arunta – A Study of a Stone Age People
350:
348:
199:
97:" by Europeans. Upon each tjurunga is a
390:
354:
27:
345:
561:
504:The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
405:
328:The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
551:Aboriginal readers from Central and
163:
109:The term Tjurunga was translated by
88:Generally speaking, tjurunga denote
363:
301:Relationship to historical research
13:
14:
615:
527:
153:concerns the meaning of the word
117:means "hidden" or "secret", and
496:
410:. SUNY Press. pp. 211–338.
579:Australian Aboriginal clothing
512:Spencer, B., & Gillen, F.
466:
440:
414:
399:
395:. The Free Press. p. 119.
384:
1:
338:
132:
32:Tjurunga exposed in a museum
7:
225:Influence on Aboriginal art
10:
620:
370:Lucien LĂ©vy-Bruhl (1922).
83:
18:
478:Aboriginal Bark Paintings
452:Aboriginal Bark Paintings
426:Aboriginal Bark Paintings
373:The Soul Of The Primitive
355:Strehlow, T.G.H. (1947).
21:Tjurunga (disambiguation)
391:Durkheim, Emile (1915).
246:Acquisition of knowledge
200:Ceremonial significance
406:Gibson, Jason (2020).
321:, Strehlow, Kempe and
298:
33:
584:Religion in Australia
257:
31:
335:of the sacred item.
19:For other uses, see
480:. 7 September 2019
34:
594:Religious objects
521:Aranda Traditions
519:Strehlow, T.G.H,
502:Durkheim, Emile,
454:. 18 October 2018
357:Aranda Traditions
164:Religious aspects
70:sacred ceremonies
611:
490:
489:
487:
485:
470:
464:
463:
461:
459:
444:
438:
437:
435:
433:
428:. 9 October 2018
418:
412:
411:
403:
397:
396:
388:
382:
381:
367:
361:
360:
352:
619:
618:
614:
613:
612:
610:
609:
608:
559:
558:
534:Flight of Ducks
530:
499:
494:
493:
483:
481:
472:
471:
467:
457:
455:
446:
445:
441:
431:
429:
420:
419:
415:
404:
400:
389:
385:
368:
364:
353:
346:
341:
307:anthropologists
303:
282:
265:
248:
236:Clifford Possum
227:
202:
166:
135:
86:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
617:
607:
606:
601:
596:
591:
586:
581:
576:
571:
553:Western Desert
548:
547:
540:Sacred Journey
537:
529:
528:External links
526:
525:
524:
517:
510:
507:
498:
495:
492:
491:
465:
439:
413:
398:
383:
362:
343:
342:
340:
337:
302:
299:
290:
289:
284:
273:
272:
267:
247:
244:
240:aboriginal art
226:
223:
201:
198:
165:
162:
134:
131:
85:
82:
52:people of the
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
616:
605:
602:
600:
597:
595:
592:
590:
587:
585:
582:
580:
577:
575:
572:
570:
567:
566:
564:
557:
556:
554:
545:
541:
538:
535:
532:
531:
522:
518:
515:
511:
508:
505:
501:
500:
479:
475:
469:
453:
449:
443:
427:
423:
417:
409:
402:
394:
387:
379:
375:
374:
366:
358:
351:
349:
344:
336:
334:
330:
329:
324:
320:
316:
312:
308:
297:
293:
288:
285:
283:
279:
278:
277:
271:
268:
266:
262:
261:
260:
256:
253:
243:
241:
237:
232:
222:
218:
216:
210:
207:
197:
195:
191:
187:
182:
179:
175:
171:
161:
158:
156:
150:
148:
144:
140:
130:
128:
124:
120:
116:
112:
111:Carl Strehlow
107:
105:
100:
96:
91:
81:
79:
78:sacred ground
75:
71:
67:
63:
59:
55:
51:
47:
43:
40:, also spelt
39:
30:
26:
22:
550:
549:
520:
513:
503:
497:Bibliography
482:. Retrieved
477:
468:
456:. Retrieved
451:
442:
430:. Retrieved
425:
416:
407:
401:
392:
386:
372:
365:
356:
326:
311:sociologists
304:
294:
291:
286:
280:
274:
269:
263:
258:
249:
234:artist like
228:
219:
211:
203:
186:Ted Strehlow
183:
167:
159:
154:
151:
136:
126:
122:
118:
114:
108:
95:bull roarers
87:
65:
61:
60:which means
57:
45:
41:
37:
35:
25:
194:initiations
143:patrilineal
74:bullroarers
569:Ceremonies
563:Categories
339:References
252:ceremonial
50:Aboriginal
604:Talismans
574:Fertility
333:archetype
206:fertility
174:ancestors
133:Ownership
58:Tywerenge
589:Arrernte
323:Durkheim
190:Arrernte
168:In many
145:totemic
139:Arrernte
104:Durkheim
66:precious
54:Arrernte
46:Tjuringa
42:Churinga
38:Tjurunga
599:Amulets
484:14 July
458:14 July
432:14 July
315:Spencer
231:Papunya
215:totemic
178:magical
84:Meaning
319:Gillen
90:sacred
62:sacred
296:pain.
170:myths
155:runga
127:runga
119:runga
99:totem
76:, in
72:, as
486:2021
460:2021
434:2021
309:and
172:the
147:clan
44:and
544:ABC
542:An
378:188
123:Tju
115:Tju
64:or
565::
476:.
450:.
424:.
347:^
317:,
196:.
36:A
488:.
462:.
436:.
380:.
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
