Tutini (Pukumani pole)

Artist Leon Puruntatameri (1949)

Date1995

Object number00019445

NameSculpture

MediumOchres, carved ironwood

Dimensions3300 x 230 mm
Display Dimensions: 3310 mm

ClassificationsCeremonial artefact

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionPukumani pole (Tutini) made by Leon Puruntatameri on Melville Island, Tiwi Islands. Tutini, made from a single piece of carved ironwood and is intricately painted, are used as part of the burial or Pukumani ceremony performed on the Tiwi Islands and are unique to the Tiwi language group. Skin Group : Scaly Mullet Dance : Jungle Fowl Domicile : Milikapiti, Melville Island HistoryBurial rituals (Pukumani) are based on the teachings of ancestral spirits. The elaborately carved and painted poles (tutini) are placed around the grave of a Tiwi person. The poles are commissioned by the dead person's family along with new songs, dances and body paint designs. The works placate the spirit of the dead and ensure safe travel to the spirit world where it will dwell forever. Tunga (woven and painted bark baskets) are placed on top of poles at the end of the Pukumani funeral ceremony to signify the end of life. Each tutini is made from a single piece of carved bloodwood or ironwood that is intricately painted with natural ochres in abstract patterns unique to the Tiwi. The base is left bare as it is inserted into the ground. Early in the 20th century the Tiwi were moved into towns under the administration of non-Indigenous people and the Pukumani ceremony was banned. In 1976 the Tiwi regained control of their land under the Northern Territory Land Rights Act and this has led to a cultural revival of the Pukumani ceremony and some include Christian elements in the ritual.SignificanceThe Tiwi people have a significant and distinct culture and history formed in part as a result of their isolation from the mainland. One of these unique cultural traditions is the Pukumani ceremony, considered the most significant ceremony in a Tiwi person’s life.