Tiwi armband with feather tuft by Margaret Munery
Maker
Margaret Munery
(Deceased)
Date1995
Object number00028985
NameArmband
MediumPandanus, wax, cockatoo feathers
Dimensions310 x 135 mm, 0.015 kg
Copyright© Margaret Munery
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA woven pandanus armband, or pamajini, was made by Tiwi artist Margaret Munery.
Armbands such as this are ceremonial and worn by mourners during the Pukumani ceremony. This particular example features tufts of feathers from the white and the red-tailed black cockatoo that are attached to the pandanus band by wax.
The use of cockatoo feathers is significant in 'pamajinis' at a Pukumani ceremony as the cockatoo is 'believed to keep a sentinel eye on wayward spirits lost on route to the island of the dead'.
HistoryThe Tiwi women are traditionally the makers of ceremonial bands. These armbands (pamajini) and headbands (japalingini) have been traditionally worn by mourners during the Pukumani ceremony in conjunction with body paint. The purpose of this disguise is to confuse the spirit of the deceased so it will not be able to recognise the mourners. Purukapali, the ancestral being who gave the Tiwi the Pukumani ceremony at the time of creation, decreed that the Tiwi wear these mourning bands.
The Pukumani ceremony is still unique and central to modern Tiwi culture. It involves the placing of burial poles or 'Tutuni" on the deceased’s grave along with traditional songs and dances. Tiwi belief is that the first Pukumani ceremony was held by their ancestor Purukuparli for his child, Jinani, and the ceremony was necessary to ensure the deceased entered the spirit world.
