Tunga Bag (Wangatunga and Yimwarlini)
Maker
Pedro Wonaeamirri
(1974)
Date1995
Object number00019480
NameBag
MediumPandanus leaves, ochres, stringybark
Dimensions490 x 520 x 375 mm, 2.05 kg
Copyright© Pedro Wonaeamirri
ClassificationsCeremonial artefact
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionA Tunga bag (Wangatunga and Yimwarlini) made by Pedro Wonaeamirri.
A Tunga bag is placed on the Tutini (Pukumani pole) at the end of the Pukumani ceremony. It is made from two pieces of stringybark that have been sewn together at the sides with pandanus fibres. Cross hatched pandanus fibres are lined against the rim and ther is a handle attached at the top made from pandanus fibre and woven in a plait like formation.
Pedro Wonaeamirri's skin group is Mulipurrula (White Cockatoo) and dance is Jilarti (Brolga).
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 and the Tunga (bark bags) are placed upside down on top of the poles to signify the end of life and that the relatives of the deceased have fulfilled their obligations.
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 have three significant ceremonies that are performed on the islands.These are the Kulama (sacred yam ceremony), the Iliana (funeral ceremony) and the Pukamani (mortuary ceremony). The Pukamani ceremony has been practised since the first death of a human, Tjinani, and is held months after the burial or Iliana ceremony.
