Tunga Bag (Wangatunga and Yimwarlini) by Leon Puruntatameri
Artist
Leon Puruntatameri
(1949)
Date1995
Object number00019481
NameBag
MediumOchres, stringybark, pandanus leaves
Dimensions500 x 500 x 370 mm, 2.1 kg
Copyright© Leon Puruntatameri
ClassificationsCeremonial artefact
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionThis tunga bag (Wangatunga and Yimwarlini) was made by Blanche Puruntatmeri and painted by Leon Puruntatameri.
The tunga bag was placed on the tutini at the end of the Pukumani ceremony. It is made from two pieces of stringybark sewn together at the sides with pandanus fibres. Cross hatched pandanus fibres also line the rim of the bag. Bag has one handle attached at the top made from pandanus fibre and woven in a plait formation. The bag has been painted in mustard coloured ochres in patterns of dots and lines.
Date of Birth : 1949
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 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.
