Sacred board "tjuringa" ·  Australia · ID: 3039193

Description

wood, middle brown patina, of proportionally large size (which is why it must have been extremely powerful and important), on both sides decorated with concentric circles, semi circles and curved lines, slightly dam., missing parts around the rim, abrasion of paint, water spots, traces of old age and usage;
“tjuringas” were displayed at initiations by elders to explain traditions and legends to novices and during rain-making ceremonies or observances to assure adequate supplies of food. The linear incisions on their surfaces are in the form of concentric circles, ovals, arcs, spirals, parallel, dotted and wavy lines. They might refer to any number of beings, myths, parts of the heavens or the landscape, plants, and animals and their tracks. Because any of these motifs can be used to represent many different things, the meaning of a single “tjuringa” is impossible to interpret without information from its owner.

Comparing literature

Wardwell, Allen, Island Ancestors, Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, Fort Worth 1994, p. 268 ff. Mc Carthy, Frederick, Australian Aborginal Decorative Art, Sydney 1966, p. 29