Message stick
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A message stick is a graphic communication device traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians. The objects were carried by messengers over long distances and were used for reinforcing a verbal message. Although styles vary, they are generally oblong lengths of wood with motifs engraved on all sides. They have traditionally been used across continental Australia, to convey messages between Aboriginal nations, clans and language groups and even within clans. In the 1880s, they became objects of anthropological study, but there has been little research on them published since then. Message sticks are non-restricted since they were intended to be seen by others, often from a distance. They are nonetheless frequently mistaken for tjurungas.
See also
- Devil's Pool, Australia
- Koori Mail
- National Indigenous Times Australia's largest circulating Indigenous affairs newspaper
- Australian Aboriginal artefacts
