cicatrices

Cockatoos are an important animal in the Australian Indigenous people’s mythology, acknowledged for their important part in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth of plants in the landscape. For the Indigenous people and more broadly, Cockatoos represent illumination – the sentinel guard and guide through darkness; they speak of commitment to partnerships and to the importance of the safety of one’s group; and they represent comedic relief with the spark that mischief and curiosity bring to life! Source: worldbirds.com/cockatoo-symbolism/

The 'nose bone ceremony' marks an Aboriginal boy's transition to manhood. The ritual begins with the painting of sacred symbols on the body, followed by piercing the septum. The nose is pierced with the bone of an animal or bird associated with a tribe's Dreaming and the ancestral creator of their sacred site. These nose bones were originally worn by both men and woman, today they are usually only worn by the older generation on ceremonial occasions. Source: www.aboriginalartuk.com/post/sacred-places-marrapinti#:~:....

Pearl shells were in use from at least 1818. In 1818 Freycinet records the following in Shark Bay, Western Australia. “An old man painted with stripes of various colors and distinguished from the rest by a shell hanging from his girdle”. They are an original and unique form of Aboriginal Art. Source: www.aboriginal-bark-paintings.com/aboriginal-pearl-shell/

Hunting Spears: Hunting spears are usually made from Tecoma vine. These vines are not straight but in fact curly. To straighten them the maker dries out the moisture by heating the branch over a small fire while it is still green. While doing this he shapes it into the form that he wants. A wooden barb is attached to the spearhead by using kangaroo (sometimes emu) sinew. the opposite end is then tapered to fit onto a spear thrower. On completion, the spear is usually around 270 centimeters (9 feet) long. Spear Thrower/Woomera A spear-thrower is also commonly known as a Woomera or Miru. The spear-thrower is usually made from mulga wood and has a multi-function purpose. It is however primarily designed to launch a spear. The thrower grips the end covered with spinifex resin and places the end of the spear into the small peg on the end of the woomera. The spear can then be launched with substantial power at an enemy or prey. Inserted in the spinifex resin of the handle of many spear throwers is a very sharp piece of quartz rock. This is used for cutting, shaping, or sharpening. The spear-thrower was also used as a fire-making saw, as a receptacle of mixing ochre, in ceremonies, and also to deflect spears in battle. Source: mbantua.com.au/weapons/

Wujal Wujal is an Aboriginal community located in FNQ, originally known as Bloomfield and later the Bloomfield River Mission. Wujal Wujal, meaning ‘many falls’, is part of the traditional homelands of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji nation. The waterfalls are a women’s place and very sacred to the community. The public can only access one of the waterfalls, which is clearly signed. The first recorded European to visit the Bloomfield River was British Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Frederick Bedwell, who accompanied Captain Phillip Parker King on board the HMS Mermaid on a hydrological survey of the east coast of Australia. Gold was discovered in the region in the early 1870s and resulted in a gold rush with thousands of miners setting up camp in the Palmer River area. A tin mining industry was also established in the area. Tensions between miners and pioneer settlers moving into Kuku-Yalanji territories resulted in violent clashes. The establishment of the Bloomfield River Mission was a Queensland Government initiative. It was announced that a reserve on the Bloomfield River had been set aside, 45 miles south of Cooktown in the mid-1880s. The trigger was the rapid development of the region by settlers establishing sugar cane plantations and cattle stations. The Queensland Government declined to make a financial commitment beyond the first year of the Mission’s operation. Instead, the Queensland Government offered the running of Bloomfield River Mission to the Lutherans. The Bloomfield Mission was considered a failure and government subsidies were withdrawn. In August 1900 it was decided that the Mission be wound down. Source: banayirrijiart.com.au/history/