i * fa Ilf j > Ajj. lit * ' ^ iTT^— ! Wf 1 fl Q‘ 5lv\ .^.-v v J 'dlL^ifi The Monograph Series of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, Australia, reflects the results of research conducted in the Natural, Human and Physical Sciences and Arts in Tropical and Arid Australia, South-East Asia and South-West Pacific. By virtue of its location at the centre of this region of scientific and cultural unity and diversity, abundantly rich in unique and significant areas for enquiry, the museum is singularly placed to foster this research. Monographs are published at irregular intervals, available separately and individually priced. Orders and enquiries should be sent to: The Librarian, Northern Territory Museum, GPO Box 4646, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia. © Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1993 ISBN 0 7245 2842 3 ISSN 0 814 00 30 Editor for this number: Helen K. Larson Assistant editor and typesetting: Neil Smit Cover: Three carved pearl shells from the Kimberley area, WA. Akerman Collection. Photographed by Rick Bawden. Printed by the Northern Territory Government Printing Office. RIJI AND JAKULI: KIMBERLEY PEARL SHELL IN ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA KIM AKERMAN WITH JOHN STANTON Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences MONOGRAPH SERIES Number 4 1994 "This is for everybody - man and woman. This is rain. This everything water". Mumbadadi, Christmas Creek. 1990. CONTENTS Foreword by Emeritus Professor D.J. Mulvaney.v Preface. v >* Acknowledgements. 1X Introduction. X1 Procurement and manufacture.1 The distribution of pearl shell.15 The utilization of pearl shell.19 The art of engraved and incised pearl shell.33 The 20th Century efflorescence of Aboriginal manufacture and use of pearl shell.55 Conclusions..63 References.65 Appendix: Annotations to the plates.69 FOREWORD Although it remains largely unrecognised by white Australians, Aboriginal culture is extremely complex and essentially dynamic, while its art encodes many meanings. Such realities are documented in this satisfyingly comprehensive and detailed examination of a regional ethnographic feature: the use, decoration and distribution of pearl shell. In addition to non-Aboriginal students, those Aboriginal people interested in learning about this rich variation of regional culture may consult it freely, because its illustrations and text are public, not secret, and shells are used widely by both females and males. This monograph contributes positively and with factual detail to the comprehension of the nature of Aboriginal ceremonial life, and the rapidity with which it adapted and changed through time. European academic appreciation dates from anthropological research during the 1930s. W.E.H. Stanner described “ceremonial economics” in the Daly River area, while Donald Thomson discerned a “ceremonial exchange cycle” in northeastern Arnhem Land. F.D. McCarthy published his classic study of “trade” on a continental scale in 1939. Just before McCarthy's synthesis, D.S. Davidson and C. P. Mountford had emphasised the ceremonial, economic and artistic importance of Kimberley pearl shells within a wider context. All subsequent studies, referred to in this memoir, simply elaborated upon such perceptive pioneer anthropological papers. The value of Akerman’s and Stanton’s systematic monograph is that it assembles excellent pictorial material, together with information gained from publications (including several rare and little known papers) and museum ethnographic information. Most important, however, is the oral information largely gathered by Kim Akerman during his extended experience living amongst Kimberley people. Over 800 engraved pearl shells are involved in the impressive sample investi¬ gated. Such familiarity enabled the recognition of individual artists. There are numerous perceptive observations, which future researchers should take into account. As with Arnhem Land bark paintings, designs and symbols mean many things, as meaning varies regionally and according to the personal status and ritual knowledge of individuals. Temporal factors are highlighted, with wide implications for social and artistic change throughout Australia. Amongst such challenging data are evidence that shells were exchanged across 400 km within twenty years, during the period 1939-70; that the characteristic interlocking key design was adopted by people living hundred of kilometres distant from the coast; that this motif itself, for which D. S. Davidson invoked Bronze Age Indonesian origins, was applied to shell only after the 1920s although the design was engraved on wood prior to 1900; that the eastern limits of Kimberley shell distribution approximate the eastern boundary of the circumcision rile; generally, that the growth and spread of shell ornamentation is essentially a recent phenomenon, largely within this century, and that plastic may be used not only as a substitute for shell, but that it is identified as shell. The authors' suggestion that the art of scrimshaw, practised by nineteenth century whalers visiting the west coast, may have inspired local artists, merits consideration. Such a derivation in no way denigrates the intellectual and innovative qualities of Aboriginal adaptations. Inventiveness, fluidity of design, variety in motifs and the many meanings of symbols, are apparent throughout this comprehensive record of the social and geographic interconnections within this unique human culture. JOHN MULVANEY v PREFACE This study focuses on a single class of objects, made of pearl shell, that originate on the Kimberley and north-west coasts, and which are widely distributed over much of the western half of the continent of Australia. Australian Aboriginal use of pearl shell has always fascinated me, and since 1965 1 have gathered information on the topic from Aboriginal people across Western Australia and the Northern Territory. These primary data have been further expanded by extensive reading of the available ethnographic literature, the examination of Aboriginal pearl shell in both museums and private collections, and discussions with many of my colleagues. My intention is to produce an holistic study of Kimberley pearl shell which examines a range of contexts: from procurement and manufacture, beliefs associated with the material, its function in the past and to (he role it plays in the socio¬ economic and religious lives of contemporary Aboriginal Australians. In 1981, John Stanton approached me about data he wished to use in a paper he was preparing for the Anthropological Society of Western Australia. This paper was subsequently published under the title “Pearl Shells and Hair Belts" (Stanton 1981). There was, however, much more information available that, it was felt, ought to be incorporated into any new work dealing with Aboriginal pearl shell. John and 1 discussed the possibility of producing a monograph on the topic; a task, for which I had already assembled considerable data. This study is the outcome of our collaboration. I am responsible for the writing of the text of this monograph and John Stanton responsible for the assembling and preparation of the plates. We hope that this study will appeal not only to those interested in the fascinating topic of Australian Aboriginal art but also to Aboriginal people, aspects of whose rich cultural heritage we have been privileged to share. KIM AKERMAN Darwin, Northern Territory VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Having been involved in this study for such a protracted period of time, I have accrued many debts. Principally I wish to acknowledge those Aboriginals, many of whom are now deceased, who spent untold hours discussing with me the subject of pearl shell and its role in their various societies. Particularly, I wish to record my debt to Nellie Nudgeaway, Elkin Umbagai, Albert Barunga, Sam Woolagoodya, George Jomeri, Big Mick Kankinang, Essie Wallesi, David Wiggans and Butcher Joe Nangan, now all deceased. Their open warm friendship and concern with my quest for understanding will never be forgotten. Nyame Nampijin, John Dodo, Jack Mularti, Paddy Roe, Sunfly, Jimmy Janjanu, Mark Moora, Wirilee James, Benny Wolgadu, Peter Angus and Sandy Paddy have been continual fountains of knowledge and companionship over the years that I have known them. To these and the numerous other men and women with whom I have worked, I can only say from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 1 am indebted for permission to reproduce images of works of art generously granted by Mrs. Mary Macha (for use of works by Butcher Joe Nangan), Clare Albert and the Albert family of Broome (for works by Basil Albert) and Placid and Ludivina Undalghumen (for permission to reproduce the Wandjina (Plate 47) painted by Alex Minjilmamganu). 1 am also grateful for the support, debate and insights provided by John Mulvaney, Betty Meehan, Peter Bindon, Luke Taylor, Wally Caruana, Athol Chase and Richard Willan all who have, at one time or another, read and commented on drafts of the manuscript as it developed. To Father Hillaire Valiquette, Ms Mella Parshen-Kempfer and Ms Chris Tomat I am indebted for the translations they provided of the non-English references consulted. Dick Kimber generously provided a tracing of the reverse side of the Kookaburra pearl shell which is Figure 2 in this monograph. Institutions which have at various times allowed me to examine their collections of pearl shell and relevant records include the Bemdt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, the Australian National Galleries, the Australian Museum, the Macleay Museum, the National Museum of Australia, the Queensland Museum, the Museum of Victoria, the South Australian Museum, the Western Australian Museum and of course the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. John Stanton, in the course of collecting information on pearl shell held in overseas collections, received generous assistance from the University of Western Australia. I cannot thank John enough for amassing and preparing the plates that make up such an integral component of this study. For the most willing and patient cooperation I have received from Joanne Adams, Angela Rooke, Sally Irvine and Loma Gravener, my thanks. Their expertise on the word processor and the time they expended on the preparation of various drafts of the manuscript over the years is deeply appreciated. My thanks also to Nadene Jones for her preparation of the maps and figures. Finally, I must acknowledge the interest and support I have received, since my student days, from the late Emeritus Professor Ronald M. Bemdt. KIM AKERMAN IX INTRODUCTION Australian Aboriginal use of pearl shell for secular and other purposes has been noted from an extremely early period of contact. Woods (1943: 39) records that Freycinet in 1818 at Shark Bay, Western Australia, noted “an old man painted with stripes of various colours and distinguished from the rest by a shell hanging from his girdle." Martin and Banter (1864: 45. 86) recorded the manufacture and use of ornaments of pearl shell at Roebuck Bay, and obtained the name iredzi for the shell. The pearling industry itself, in north-west Australia, was stimulated initially in 1861 by shell traded by Aboriginals in the vicinity of Nichol Bay, to members of the exploration team headed by A. C. Gregory (Gregory and Gregory 1884:73). Pearl shell artefacts from Broome were illustrated and described by Saville-Kent in 1897. However, scholarly attention has been focused generally on the distribution of pearl shell objects within Australia, investigating the ceremonial and economic trade routes that covered the continent like a lattice. The art depicted on pearl shell has received little attention, with papers by Foy (1900- 1901), Mountford and Harvey (1938) and Davidson (1937. 1938. 1949) being the only significant contributions. Mountford and Harvey (1938), Kaberry (1939), McCarthy (1939), Falkenberg (1962), Tindale (1974). Mulvaney (1969, 1976), Micha (1970) and Mountford (1976) all have examined the role of pearl shell in economic exchange cycles, as well as recording other functions that it had in Aboriginal society. Mountford and Harvey (1938) used a typological approach for their examination of pearl and baler shell objects. Davidson (1949) detailed the spread of the “interlocking key” design on shell and wooden objects, from its apparent point of origin amongst the Karadjari, on the Eighty Mile Beach area of Western Australia, across the western half of the continent. It is my intention here, drawing together the available data in the literature, and my own observations over a period of twenty years, to provide an holistic study of Aboriginal pearl shell derived from the north-west coast of Australia. Aspects of this work include an examination of engraved shell as an art form, and as an expression of the socio-cultural values held by the Aboriginal groups which manufacture, utilise, and trade in these fascinating objects. It should be noted that all the items that are discussed and illustrated are secular in nature; they do not lie within the realm of the secret-sacred. In general, pearl shell art is not held to be secret. However, the objects themselves may, from time to time, be used either centrally or incidentally in a wide range of ritual and ceremonial activities, some of which may be of a secret-sacred nature. Individual shells may also be placed in caches of sacred objects associated with a specific ceremony and remain in this context. Apart from noting that this does occur, no further comment is made on such matters. The meaning and significance of the designs engraved on shell may vary from one area to another and more importantly, from one situation to another. Just as access to knowledge in Aboriginal Australia is circumscribed by sex, age and status, so too are the meanings and significance of shell designs. Consequently, one cannot say that there is just one and only one meaning for any particular design or symbol. Many meanings or interpretations are related to regional perspectives, the use to which the shell is put, as well as to the level of knowledge to which one is party. Some shells may be worn publicly, exhibiting a public meaning in one context, while simultaneously possessing an inner or secret meaning within another. Shell use is not a male preserve, for women and children may also possess or wear pearl shell either as personal ornaments or in ritual contexts. In the Kimberley these pearl shell objects are generally known as ri:ji or jakuli when large and pinjapinja when small. The term longkalongka, initially a central Australian term for both baler and pearl shell pendants, is now also widespread in Western Australia. xi Posterior ig. 1. Pearl shell nomenclature: a, right-hand valve or round valve: I), left-hand valve or flat valve; c, hinge line; d, marginal calcareous layer of fingers; e, nacreous or pearly surface; f, adductor muscle scar; g, byssal notch; h, area enclosed by dashed line is preferred for the manufacture of large pendants; i, outer calcareous surface. Kimberley pearl shell PROCUREMENT AND MANUFACTURE There appear to have been two major areas in Australia from which pearl shell was obtained. The main and certainly primary source of engraved shell was the north-west coast of Western Australia between Port Hedland and the Buccaneer Archipelago. The other major area was Cape York Peninsula, but pearl shell from there was generally undecorated, while some of the shapes into which it was ground reflect Torres Strait influence. Although Cape York pearl shells were part of a limited trading network, they were not as significant an element in local traditions as shell was in Western Australia. Examples of pearl shell objects from Cape York are provided by Schall (1985). As Cape York is outside the scope of this study, no further reference to pearl shell from this region will be made. The main pearl shell sought by Aborigines in Western Australia was the “gold lip" Pinctada maxima. Occasionally, objects were made from the smaller “pearl oyster" Pinctada albina albina. In the northern Kimberley, small ornaments, often incised with fine line naturalistic figures, were made from the translucent valves of the “window-pane” shell Placuna placenta. Shell was gathered, as it still is today, by “dry shelling” or “reefing" at low tides. Larger examples of P. maxima are obtained during equinox tides, when usually inaccessible reefs and shell beds become exposed. The Bardi. Jaui and Ongkarango of the Buccaneer Archipelago used rafts to visit offshore reefs to collect shell. The only references I have been able to find to ritual involved with shelling activities are made by Piddington (1932a: 391-393), who describes the totemic activities of the Karadjari of the Eighty Mile Beach. Two pearl shell rituals were performed at Birdinapa Point. The first aimed to produce calm weather and ideal conditions for the collection of pearl shell available on reefs exposed by the equinoctial tides. In the second ritual the assistance of the bowerbird ancestor w'as invoked by rubbing a large rock representing his metamorphosed body. This action, coupled w'ith verbal requests for a plentiful supply of shell, ensured that large quantities would be obtained. The latter ritual was controlled by men of the Panaka - Paljari patrimoiety (Elkin 1933: 286). This ritual possibly refers to the fascination that bowerbirds have for bright objects, collecting and hoarding them at every available opportunity. By invoking the assistance of the bowerbird the shell gatherers enhance their own ability to locate shell. From the 1870s pearl shells were also obtained from lugger stations along the coast. Today, many shells are seen bearing evidence that they originated at cultured pearl farms, in the form of circular scars where cultured blister pearls have been drilled free. Live pearl shells were opened either by exposing them to the sun, or by placing them beside a fire. Heat causes the mollusc’s adductor muscle to relax, making it possible to pry the valves apart and sever the muscle. The placing of hot ashes on shell as a preliminary procedure to grinding the shell is reported by Mountford and Harvey (1938: 115). Usually the “flat” or left-hand valve of the shell is decorated: however engraved “round” or right- hand valves do occur. The “flat" valve, as its name suggests, provides a relatively level inner surface on which to engrave, in contrast to the markedly concave surface of the “round” valve (Fig. 1). The brittle “fingers", and wafer-thin margins of the calcareous layer are chipped away until the solid nacreous body of the valve is reached. Retention of the natural edge leads to rapid radial marginal fracturing as the shell dries, and consequently its removal is vital. The rough, thick outer surface or calcareous layer is usually carefully flaked and "picked off’ with hammerstones and bone or wood punches, or, as is the case today, with chisels or similar metal tools (Plate 1). Akerman with Stanton Plate 1. Removing the rough outer surface of pearl shell valve. Balgo, WA. Plate 2. Grinding and smoothing the back and margins of a pearl shell. Mowanjum, WA. 2 Kimberley pearl shell Plate 3. Pearl shell engraved so (hat die adductor muscle scar forms the belly of the Mirituiniritu spirit figure. Broome, WA: a, Rainu, zigzag motifs; b. Mirimmiriiii, bush sprite who can act as a supernatural messenger; e, female Rayi spirits; AMamrtwa eyes, the eyes of Tarbayi - old woman spirit which live at Mantakarrakapu; c, two men participating in ceremony; f. Tatbayi spirit being holds her firestick ptmdartku between her legs, keeping herself warm; the firestick keeps humans awake; Tarbayi spirits may also irritate people, poking them with digging sticks; g, flowers of the ngunamingkul tree; It, Pibibirr, a messenger or newsman. Plate 4. A small irregular pendant fixed with bitumen to a hairstring cord. Wiluna, WA. 3 Akerman with Stanton Shell is ground, either wet or dry. on a sandstone or coral block. Sand may be added to enhance abrasion. Grinding smooths the flaked exterior and evens the margins (Plate 2). The area of thicker shell at the hinge line and byssal notch is ground down and thinned from both sides of the valve. Many early shells show that the knotted area of nacre that marks the adductor and pedal retractor muscle scars was also ground out. This area is not always removed today and designs may be organised around it. The innovative shell work of Butcher Joe (Nangan) often incorporates the scar and other natural features such as blisters into the design (Plate 3). The prepared shell may be roughly circular, oval, or pyriform, narrowing at the area of the posterior end of the hinge line. Margins are generally smooth, although shells with scalloped or serrated edges do occur in rare instances. The shell is now ready for piercing. Not all prepared shells were pierced for suspension and others were pierced after engraving had been completed. Shells that were not pierced may be attached to suspension cords with resin (often nowadays with bitumen), or were intended to be bound onto and incorporated into composite ritual objects (see Worms 1950: 654; Berndt 1974: 10, Berndt et al. 1982: 112). Smaller pearl shell objects may be pierced, but these are often fixed with resin or bitumen to suspension cords (Plate 4). Pearl shell was perforated in one or other of the following ways. Two deep grooves at right angles to each other, one on each side ot the valve, were sawn or incised into the shell with a stone flake. The intersection of the midpoints pierced the shell and the hole was then reamed out. More commonly however, hand held flakes (and later, knives or other metal tools) were used to drill into the shell from opposing sides; the resultant hole possessing a biconical section. Metal tools may be also used to gouge out asymmetrical holes. The holes were then usually enlarged by reaming, thus often obliterating all traces of the method of initial perforation (Plate 5a-c). One to three suspension holes may be drilled. Shells with more than one hole are usually found in the Western Desert areas, where they are used to support an attached pubic tassel. However, Campbell and Bird (1915: Plate VI, No. I) illustrate a shell from Sunday Island. Western Australia with triple perforations. Multiple perforations provide firmer attachment to the suspension cord or hair belt and also restrict the tendency of the shell to move about. Today, both cleaning and piercing of shells may be done with mechanical and electric grinders and drills. These tools usually leave distinctive traces on the shell. Unless obliterated by further smoothing, grinding wheels leave shallow concavities in which striations, parallel to the linear orientation of the hollow, are visible. Electric drills make clean holes with parallel sides and sharp margins. Both types ol machine, unless used carefully, are apt to create “dead” patches of calcined shell by overheating the nacre. Many recent shells are minimally prepared on the outer surface, the outer calcareous surface being left in a natural or rough condition with only the valve margins being levelled. e Not all shells were engraved. For example, an unengraved shell, pierced for suspension, was a public emblem indicating a certain level of initiation among the Bardi and Nyulnyul of the Dampierland Peninsula (Plate 6). Spencer and Gillen (1899: 573) did not see any decorated shell among the Central Australian groups with whom they worked, but they did see plain pearl shell pendants in use. In 1875. at Glaring rock hole in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Giles (1889: 217) saw a large plain pearl shell being worn as a pendant by an Aboriginal male who had come into his camp. In 1896 Carnegie (1898a: 243) mentions finding carefully wrapped pearl shell at Family Well. 800 km inland from the coast. It is presumed that they were plain for he does not mention engraving being present. Unmodified shell valves are included in trade parcels moving south and east from the Kimberley region today. It is understood that these are to be finished al other centres. Evidence lor the preparation and engraving of shell objects has been observed at Timber Creek Depot Wiluna, Balgo Hills, Christmas Creek. Gordon Downs and the Warburton Ranges Pearl shells are usually engraved on the lustrous inner face, where the nacre forms a clean, even surface which enhances the design, particularly after ochre or charcoal has been applied to infill the engraved areas. The backs ol shell are rarely engraved for, even when cleaned, they usually bear traces of worm holes and other blemishes. In addition, the back of the valve consists of older shell winch has a tendency to flake. Some shells do have incised motifs on the back: these motifs are usually ot relatively recent origin. In some instances the artist has used the back of the shell to test the cutting edge ot the engraving tool, or to experiment with the layout of a design. 4 Kimberley pearl shell Plate 5. Derails of perforations found on pearl shells: a, shell pierced by sawing two grooves, one on each side of the shell and at right angles to each other. The perforation occurs when the grooves intersect one another. Broome, WA; It.shell pierced by drilling holes from either side. Misalignment has occurred in this instance. Dampierland Peninsula, WA; c.the perforation on this shell has been reamed to enlarge it, obliterating any traces of the original piercing technique, Dampierland Peninsula. WA. 5 Akerman with Stanton Plate 6. Large undecorated pearl shell of the type known as kuwan by the Bardi and Nyul Nyul. Dampierland Peninsula, WA. Plate 7. Engraving tools: a. reversed pen nib bound with sinew to a wooden handle. Warburton Ranges, WA; b, sharpened metal ^ U -°"~ WA; '• ‘"—f*.or-kcinciS.dified 6 Kimberley pearl shell According to contemporary Aboriginal shell workers, engraving is best undertaken during the humid pre-wet season conditions at the end of each year. Then pearl shells are said to absorb moisture front the atmosphere and soften, making them more amenable to engraving. Shells have been observed soaking in buckets of water prior to engraving at centres such as Balgo, Gordon Downs and Wiluna. However, at Wiluna, shells are said to also occasionally be scorched on a fire to make them easier to engrave, a process which tends to calcine the nacre and reduce the lustre considerably. At Christmas Creek, pearl shell are said to be made "soft" and easier to engrave by either placing hot ashes on it or by soaking it in hot water. Prior to access to metal, shells were engraved with halted stone tools, or trimmed macropod incisors sharpened by snapping off the extreme tip (Plate 7a). The anterior end of the columella of a baler shell (Mein amphora) was said by some informants to have been used as an engraving tool on the Dampierland Peninsula. Experiments I have undertaken have shown that such a tool is unlikely to have been used to engrave shell. It seems likely that there were far fewer examples of engraved shells in relation to unadorned shells in pre-contact times. This possibility is discussed further in the section examining motifs engraved on shell. Engraved shell has not been found in any archaeological context which can provide a pre-contact date for the art form. It is possible that the production of engraved shell only flourished with the introduction of metal into the north-west. Peggs (1903: 327) observed Aborigines at Roebuck Bay in the 1890s using a nail to “scrape” a “key” pattern onto a shell. The engraved pattern was then filled with a mixture of fat and red sand and this was “rubbed in until the shell has the appearance of being inlaid”. In his foreword to Barrett and Croll. Elkin (1943: xi), states that “the key-pattern on the shell (or ‘apron')... can only be worked to the accompaniment of the appropriate sacred chant. This particular key-pattern can only be engraved by men of the Karadjeri tribe at La Grange, north-western Australia, because they alone know the chant which gives the design meaning, and the object on which it is engraved power or ‘virtue’”. Today, small engraving tools are made from a range of introduced materials. Dip pen nibs, reversed, and halted as fine gouges, wire, windscreen wiper rods, screwdrivers, and the sharpened tangs of files - to mention but a few - have been observed being used as engraving tools (Plate 7b,c). The tool is held in the palm of the hand with the cutting edge emerging from beneath the little finger at the lower side and the haft braced by the thumb. As with all Aboriginal engraving and adzing tools, it is drawn towards the worker when being used (Plate 8a,b). Several Aboriginal pearl shells have been seen on which the engraving has been executed with high-speed dental type drills. The tips of knives and sharpened tangs of flies are also used to engrave shell, in a manner that leaves quite characteristic patterns of application. The tip of the blade is held firmly between the thumb and second finger, with the handle of the knife lying along the palm of the hand: the index finger is placed firmly along the back of the blade. By rocking the blade, the tip is forced into the nacre and is then moved forward and away across the shell surface by the craftsman. The resulting engraved line has a zigzag or wavy appearance, caused by the tip of the blade biting into the shell on alternate sides of the main axis of direction as it is rocked. The line varies in the width, in the density of the zigzags per centimetre, and in depth, depending on the rapidity and the amplitude of the rocking motion imparted to the blade and the degree of pressure exerted upon it. This technique is commonly used throughout the Kimberley region, when the large fruit or nuts of the boab tree (Adansonia gregorii) are carved. Designs can be applied far more rapidly by this method than using the conventional engraving techniques, and many recent shells are engraved in this fashion. Engraving can also be done by fine-line scratching of a design with either a simple stone flake or, as is done today, with a sharpened knife point. It is apparent that with the less complex patterns such as random mazes, the engravings were applied with a minimum of design organization or planning. Similarly, in several types of formal motifs such as serried parallel zigzags, a minimum of advance planning was required for their execution. Complex designs, however, required a phase of careful forethought, planning and drafting, prior to actually engraving the shell. Maze and key designs engraved on natural pieces of friable stone have been observed on habitation sites along the Eighty Mile Beach. These are recognised by Karadjeri informants as preparatory sketches of designs which would later be engraved on pearl shell. In more recent times such sketches were first worked out with pencils on paper or directly onto the shell to be engraved. 7 Akerman with Stanton Plate 8 . Engraving pearl shell: a, using a modified screwdriver. I.averton, WA; I), using a pocket knife. Broome, WA. 8 Kimberley pearl shell Plate 9. A shell showing the superimposition of maze design over a lightly incised and partially infilled broad band design. Nicholson Station, WA. 9 Akerman with Stanton Engravings are usually enhanced by being infilled with a mixture of fat and either red ochre or powdered charcoal. Martin and Panter(1864: 86) noted that a mixture of vegetable gum and charcoal was also used for this purpose. At the original coastal centres of shell production, the prepared pigment was applied over the entire engraved surface of the shell. When the mixture had hardened, the raised interstitial areas were carefully cleaned by scraping and swabbing to restore them to their original lustrous condition, leaving the pigment lying within the engraved depressions. Today in many areas where shells are prepared, the ochres are usually only smeared on and then wiped away from the raised areas, a process which also often removes ochre from the engraved areas, particularly when they are relatively shallow. Ochres that have only been mixed with water prior to application appear to be less stable than those mixed with fat or resin. Properly prepared, the mixture of fat and pigment appears to be very stable. Engraved shells, associated with a 40-59 year old burial, found exposed in a blown out sand dune in 1975 at Hunter’s Creek on the tip of the Dampierland Peninsula, retained much of their ochre infilling. Engravings do not always survive the life of a particular shall. Some shells appear to have been reworked with a succession of different styles. Engravings are also obliterated in order to provide a fresh surface for decoration, particularly when a broken shell is being reshaped (Plate 9). Pearl shell is carefully curated. Shells are individually wrapped in soft bark or cloth and kept with an individual's personal possessions, often within the locus of a known cache of sacred objects. Occasionally individuals will cache shell in a location known only to themselves. I know of instances where such caches have been lost on the death of the owner. When “lost" caches are rediscovered, the shells may once again be incorporated into the ceremonial economic exchange system. When a perforation on a pendant wears through to the margin, or is accidentally broken, new holes are made. If the damage breaks a shell object in half, resins may be used to repair the fracture. Mountford and Harvey (1938: Plate VIA) illustrate a shell collected in central Australia that was mended with resin and I have observed similar repairs being undertaken at Wiluna, Western Australia. Resin may also be used to re-establish the symmetry of a damaged margin of a valve, or to fill holes and cavities created by marine borers (Plate 10a,b) . If an object is not repaired, two smaller shell objects may be manufactured from the fragments. The margins on smaller engraved shell objects often transect the engraving, indicating that the shell was originally part of a larger shell (Plate 11). Small fragments may be carefully saved, their margins smoothed, and utilised as personal charms. A range of introduced materials are used as shell substitutes to construct pendants. Mountford and Harvey (1938: 126) describe a pubic pendant fashioned from a tin lid, collected on the Canning Stock Route, Western Australia. The lid was fastened by resin to a short length of hair string. It is not difficult to imagine that, when new, the shining tin would appear similar to a lustrous shell. The virtually indestructible material may have also enhanced the value of such a pendant. Green (1988:64) relates how Aboriginal visitors to the Forrest River Mission would, on arrival, first visit the rubbish dump to gel a tin lid. Suspended over the pubic region from a hair belt, the pendant supplied the modicum of decorum insisted upon by the missionaries. Rose (1965: 160, Fig. 8) illustrates a simply incised oval of plastic said to represent, or be associated with, the sun. Rose intimates that the object, which he collected in 1962 at Angus Downs in the Northern Territory, was regarded as a piece of pearl shell. In 1969. while examining a cache ot shell at Laverton, Western Australia, 1 was shown a large pendant made trom plastic: it was regarded us a pearl shell by its Aboriginal custodians. This pendant had been lashioned from the back of a large hairbrush made of light blue plastic with an opalescent sheen to it. The plastic had been engraved with a meander pattern and ochre infilling applied. It was said to have been brought to Laverton from Wiluna. Akerman and Bindon (1987: Plate 1) illustrate a small plastic pendant associated with love magic, obtained from a Wunambal man at Kalumburu. This pendant was originally acquired from a Warlpiri tribesman visiting Wyndham. This pendant, pierced for suspension, depicts a bird surrounded by a stippled border. The engraving ol shell in precontact times and up to (lie turn of the century appears to have been restricted to the north-west coast. 4 his situation no longer appears to be the case, and key patterns and other motils are now olten executed at places lar removed from the original centres. Engraving, particularly ot the geometric designs, whenever it is done, is said to enhance the multiple virtues of the shell. 10 Kimberley pearl shell Akerman with Stanton Plate 11. A broken and sub¬ sequently reshaped pearl shell. Gordon Downs WA. Plate 12. Two unproven- unced engraved shells com¬ pared with the design from a third (opposite) collected in the 1930s from Minilya Station. WA. All three appear to be the work of a single artist. Plate 13. Plain pearl shells form part of a collection of material culture items ass¬ embled prior to exchange. Eastern goldfields, WA. 12 Kimberley pearl shell My examination of over eight hundred engraved shells indicated that many were carved by recognizable individuals. In shell carved in the geometric or non-figurative style, the arrangement of the design, the inclusion and nature of smaller interstitial elements and even qualities such as the breadth and depth of each engraved line, and its relative juxtaposition to adjacent lines that make up the total design element, may reveal the hand of an individual, bul unknown, artist that can be identified in other shells (Plate 12). A similar situation exists naturally enough in the motifs, method of execution and general organisation or layout of elements in many shells engraved in the figurative styles. Unfortunately information on the artisans themselves is sparse. Shells acquired in the past usually lacked information which might have allowed the identity of their makers to be determined. Attempts to identify individual artists have been generally unsuccessful. Although the actual identity ot these artists is lost, there is no doubt that a number of individual artists each with a distinctive style, who had produced at least two, and often more, engraved shells, existed in the past. 13 Akerman with Stanton Darwin Daly River Kalumburu Sunday Island Beagle Bayi Broome La Grange Wallal Port Hedland Roeboume Geraldton Distribution and movement of Kimberley Pearlshell. Data drawn from the Literature, and ethnographic sources. I Original area where engraved pearlshells were produced. —+ Routes derived from literary and ethnographic sources. — Inferred routes. Map 1. 14 Kimberley pearl shell THE DISTRIBUTION OF PEARL SHELL McCarthy (1939: 92) regarded the distribution of pearl and baler shell ornaments as the most tangible example of distant trading relationships in Aboriginal Australia. From its origin on the north¬ west coast, pearl shell has been found along the Great Australian Bight to the south and as far east as the Boulia region in Queensland. Map 1 is based on the work of Mulvaney (1976: 83), and reflects the great trade routes that penetrate the continent. Map 2 details contemporary trade routes in the Kimberley. Both maps incorporate data I have collected between 1963 and 1991. and have been amended accordingly. From examination of the literature and collections of Aboriginal pearl shell in Australian museums and elsewhere, it is apparent that in the late 19th century engraved Kimberley pearl shell had a far more restricted distribution than plain shells originating from the same area. Foy (1900-1901: 27) restricts the 1894 distribution of engraved shell to a one hundred mile radius ol Broome. There are. however, engraved shells from the Roebourne region approximately 650 km to the south-west of Broome, collected at that period and now housed in the British Museum. Clement (1903) also collected engraved shell in the Roebourne area in 1896. Similarities between engraved shell collected at Sunday Island and shells collected nearly 1,600 km to the south in the Carnarvon district were noted by Campbell and Bird (1915: 56). They concluded that the latter shells had probably been conveyed south by barter. Tindale (1974:83-85) outlines the exchange networks that introduced shell from the west Kimberley into both the Pilbara to the south-west, and the western and central desert areas to the south-east. The Kimberley routes still inject shell today, usually natural valves or with incised innovative art work, into the adjacent Northern Territory, the Central Desert and the Pilbara. Harvey Johnston (1941) noted that pearl shell at Ooldea, South Australia, entered the region along trade routes from either the north-west or from the north. Shells at Ooldea were distinguished by separate names depending on their direction of origin. For example, those entering the area from the north-west were called karrar, those from the north ling-gali. In 1973, shells (both natural valves and modified but unengraved plaques) were seen in a cache of objects received at Cundeelee in the southern Western Desert. The cache had come from Yalata in South Australia. Some of the shell exhibited circular areas where half-pearls had been removed - indicative of their origin from cultured pearl farms. In Western Australia, such farms have only been operating since 1956 so the shells had travelled from the Kimberley, through Central Australia to the coast of South Australia and returned to Western Australia, a minimum distance ol at least 4,000 km in less than 20 years. More specifically, shells bearing the distinctive designs of the late Butcher Joe (Nangan) seen at Fitzroy Crossing in 1973 were observed three years later at Yuendumu, Northern Territory, 800 km to the south-east. Daisy Bates repeatedly observed the use of shells during her long residence with Aboriginal people in Western Australia. She records the importance of pearl shell in exchange transactions throughout those areas of Western Australia with which she was familiar. One name by which the Wajjari ol the Fields Find area, 380 km north of Northam, were known was “Wirdi Wonga , which can be glossed as "the people who use the word ‘wirdi' for pearl shell" (Bates 1985:63). Large shells known as wirdi-wirdi and wira-wira were obtained by peoples east of Meekatharra from the Ashburton tribes, who in turn received them from groups living further north. The name wira-wira may allude to the flat oval shape of the shell. In many Western Desert clialects, the word wira describes a small fiat or shallow oval wooden dish often used as a digging implement. The Wajjari would pass shells 15 Akerman with Stanton both to the east and to their southern neighbours, the Bibbulman (Bates 1985: 280). It is of interest to note that Gregory and Gregory (1884: 98) refer to a vocabulary of the language spoken by the Nickol Bay peoples (presumably Ngaluma speakers), where the word for pearl oyster was recorded as “ weerdee ”, While it is clear that the centralisation of Aborigines on stations, missions and outstations, together with access to modem transportation, has reduced the time needed for goods to move between centres, it is probable that the movement of prestige goods in the pre-contact phase was also relatively rapid. The effect of modern transportation is the considerable increase in bulk or number of goods that can be moved at any one time. The speed at which shell might have been exchanged in the past can be gauged by noting the rate at which other commodities are known to have been transferred along recorded trade routes. Mulvaney (1976: 91-92) analysed the transmission of the Molonga ceremony through western Queensland into the Northern Territory and onto the Nullarbor Plain, lie estimated that this ceremony travelled over 1,600 km in twenty-five years, or about 64 km per year. This rate of exchange would have necessitated ceremonial parlies meeting at various centres in days when modern transport was non-existent, and the various parties involved had to walk to mutually acceptable ceremonial centres. Evidence of the red ochre and pituri trade presented by McCarthy (1939: 87, 89-90) is also relevant here. It shows that these goods could be moved 320 - 480 km in a year. As a young man, Wirilee James (a Walmatjari colleague) made at least two journeys with a small group of kinsmen, from the eastern central area of the Great Sandy Desert to the vicinity of Wave Hill in the Northern Territory. Each journey was on toot and took less than a year to complete, a round trip of at least 1,600 km. A small quantity of goods tor exchange was taken on each trek. These trips took place some time between 1940 and 1955. Falkenberg ( 1 962), in his classic work on the peoples of the Fitzmaurice and Daly River areas of the western Northern Territory, notes that a person receiving a consignment of goods (including shell), retained the consignment lor only three days before transferring it to his trading partner. In Map 2. 16 Kimberley pearl shell one instance in 1950, a consignment of goods was followed by Falkenberg( 1962: 143, 147-162) for at least 80 kin from the point of introduction into the system. This consignment passed through the hands of at least 92 individuals. A third consignment noted by the same observer passed through 12 local group territories and 134 trading partners covering an estimated 216 km. My estimates are based on straight line distances between areas named by Falkenberg, consequently the distances quoted are regarded as minimal. While Falkenberg does not indicate the time interval involved in these transactions, it is presumed to have been less than the six months that elapsed while he was in the field. Trigger (1987: 76) has seen pearl shell pendants, known as jaramara to his Garawa and Waanyi informants, in the Lawn Hill and Musselbrook areas of north-western Queensland. These people received shell from their western trading partners rather than from their more northerly neighbours who occupied the south-western coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. According to Trigger, Aboriginal people say that the shell has a Kimberley rather than a more local origin. The Yanyuwa people of Borroloola receive jaramara pearl shell from the “Tablelands" region to the south. They in turn move it north-west to the Roper River area and south-east into Queensland (John Bradley, pers. comm.). Routes through Lake Nash, Lawn Hill and Musselbrook presumably account for the presence of the che-ka-Ia-ri pearl shell phallocrypts (pubic coverings) observed by Roth in the Leichardt-Selwyn, Upper Georgina and Boulia districts of western central Queensland (Roth 1897: 113). Roth’s brief description of the distribution of pearl shell phallocrypts reinforces the notion that such shells were derived from the west, rather than from either the Gulf of Carpentaria or Cape York. It may be important to note that Gillen (1968: 114) records that the Kaitish of Barrow Creek used the word tchechara for rainbow. While the similarity between the western Queensland name for pearl shell and the northern central Australian term for rainbow may be coincidental, it does reinforce the possibility that shells entered Queensland along a route that skirted the southern perimeter of the Barkley Tableland. Hodgkinson (1877: 12). in 1876. observed Aboriginal people transporting large shells at Coongi station in the far north-east comer of South Australia. These shells were derived from the north-west and, although it is not stated, may have been pearl shell. A pearl shell found on a surface site adjacent to Lake Cobham in north-western New South Wales and identified as originating from Thursday Island (Gerritsen 1976: 7), is just as likely to have originated in Western Australia, and entered New South Wales along trade routes skirting the northern Eyre Basin. A large (9x3 cm). Kimberley biface, serrate-edged spearpoint of quartzite, found in a rock shelter on Kilmorey Station 40 km south-west of lnjune in Queensland, is possible evidence of trade routes linking the Kimberley and the central Queensland region (G. Walsh pers. comm.). Traces of resin are present on the proximal end of the point, indicating that it was once hafted. Although no pearl shell has been found to date in the Injune-Carnarvon Range area, the presence of this speartip raises the distinct possibility of Kimberley pearl shell being transported this far east. It may be significant that the eastern limits of Kimberley pearl shell distribution coincide approximately with the eastern boundary of that area of Australia in which circumcision was practised (Elkin 1968: 67). As pearl shell is in many areas an emblem given to an initiate after circumcision, I feel that there may be a direct link between the eastward expansion of the circumcision area and the movement of pearl shell that has not been previously recognised. If the transmission of shell (and other goods) occurred at a relatively rapid pace, and if the practice is of some antiquity, it would be expected that shell would have had a wider distribution range than has so far been determined. It is possible, in fact, that the widespread use of pearl shell is a relatively recent phenomenon commencing prior to the arrival of Europeans and accelerating after contact. The majority of the shell objects found at the periphery of the areas of known distribution are generally unengraved. This suggests that the engraving of shell was a more recent phenomenon than the use of the plain shell artefacts. It should be noted that Davidson (1949. 1953) has examined the distributions and historical data relating to engraved wood and stone artefacts in Western Australia and lound them to be of relatively recent origin. Until sound archaeological evidence is available, the antiquity of the use of pearl shell at both the source and further afield is unknown. Traditional exchange systems led, I believe, to a rapid spread of pearl shell over the western half ol the continent. This accelerated in post-contact times with centralisation, and with wider and more rapid mobility, made possible by the use of horses, motor vehicles, trains, and today, aircraft. 17 Akerman with Stanton Kimberley pearl shell THE UTILIZATION OF PEARL SHELL Prior to examining the uses to which pearl shell is put in Aboriginal Australia, it is important to understand how pearl shell was perceived by Aboriginals. Mountford (1976) provides a very clear appreciation, from his association with the Pitjantjatjara people of the Western Desert, of a meaning or understanding of the significance of pearl shell which appears to be consistent with those areas of the Kimberley, the Northern Territory and the Western Desert where 1 have worked. The Pitjantjatjara believed that the pearl shells were the concentrated essence of water. This animated essence lived to the west in the sacred watcrhole oiTapilji. Medicine men, seeking the shell, would approach the waterhole in a manner that would disperse the Rainbow Serpent guardians of the site. Shells were then speared as they swam by. The suspension holes in the shells were the wounds left by the spear thrusts. After spearing, the shells were left to dry and harden in the sun. Mountford, in a footnote (1976: 275), however, states that some groups of Pitjantjatjara knew that shell occurred naturally on reefs and that they were left to open in the sun. Suspension holes were also recognised as the result of deliberate drilling. Despite the conflicting beliefs about the origin of pearl shells, they were perceived to be extremely potent objects. Elkin (1944: 117) reports a similar belief, locating the waterhole near Laverton in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. This hole was guarded by the Rainbow Serpent Tarpidi. It is interesting to note, however, that from the Ooldea perspective, the great snake Wonambi, guardian of all “doctors”, is associated with the waterhole Tjabudi, located south-west of Ooldea. It is at this location that the rituals and revelations associated with the making of “doctors” occur (Elkin 1944: 112). As both Harvey Johnson (1941: 41) and Berndl and Berndt (1945: 135) note, at Ooldea small pearl shells are known by the name of kapi or ga:bi\ that is, water! Pearl shell is “water": its flashing the lightning that precedes the summer storms. Irrespective ol the uses to which shell was put, it was regarded as an emblem of life in its own right. Water, rain, lightning; factors in the seasonal re-awakening of the land after long dry periods, are all embodied in the shell. An important quality inherent in pearl shell is its shimmering iridescence. Morphy (1989), discussing the concept of biryun (glossed as “brilliance” or “shimmering”) among the Yolngu ot north-east Arnhem Land, stresses the cultural importance of this quality in ritual and art in that region. People and presumably objects can be transformed into representations of Wangarr (ancestral beings and objects) by making them shine. People and objects shine after being oiled and ochred and painted with relevant designs. Shimmering and brilliance are, for the Yolngu, “associated with ancestral power and that intense sensations of light arc felt as manifestations of that power" (Morphy 1989: 39). Cross-hatching with fine white ochres is one means by which a shimmering effect is achieved by the Yolngu in their painted art. Dussart (1988: 37) makes an important point regarding the quality of “shininess" (which 1 equate with brilliance) among the Warlpiri in central Australia. For the Warlpiri, this quality is considered a sign of health, well being and beauty. “Brilliance” recalls the inherent traits emanating from Ancestral Beings when they first emerged from their places of origin. In this context (north-eastern Arnhem Land, central Australia), the significance of Bardi plain pearl shell pubic pendants becomes more apparent. According to Elkin (1936: 204-205), a plain shell is the emblem of a lully-initiated male, and the engraved shell, which must bear the "key" pattern of the Karajarrt rather than Bardi engraving, is representative of an earlier phase in the initiatory sequence. Worms (1950: 656), however, writes that engraved shells are the emblems of a senior man, with younger men wearing 19 Akerman with Stanton Plate 14. Small decorated blades and discs of pearl shell worn as decoration. Unprovenanced. Plate 15. Young men decorated for public ceremony wear engraved shells suspended from hair string belts. Jigalong, WA. 20 Kimberley pearl shell Plate 16. In this early photograph taken at Coolgardie, WA, two men wear disks of pearl shell on their chests. Plate 17. Rainmaker, with carved pearl shell suspended in the sun, tries to attract rain bearing clouds. The wren was a gifted rainmaker in the dreaming. Pencil and water color by Butcher Joe Nangan. Broome, WA. 21 Akerman with Stanton only plain shells, a situation that continues today (O’Donovan 1990: 16-17). A restructuring of th e significance of plain and engraved shell appears to have occurred between 1936 when Elkin was i t1 the lield, and 1949 when Worms collected his data. Today the engraved shells worn by the Bardi are invariably of local origin and bear designs of the bilaterally symmetrical style. Unfortunately, there has been little investigation of these concepts of brilliance elsewhere in Aboriginal Australia, although there appears to be some evidence in many places to suggest that the quality of “shininess” underlies a wide range of concepts dealing with physical and spiritual well-being, and that these are believed to flow from the Ancestral Creation Period. Quartz crystals, cleavage fragments of gypsum and calcite, and pearl shell are all natural substances that possess this quality and are believed to incoiporate these underpinning concepts. All are substances used in a wide range of religious practices. Similarly, pigments derived from the gleaming white mineral huntite, or red ochre from the mines of Wilgie Mia in Western Australia and Parachilna in South Australia, possess that extra quality of “shininess” and were more highly prized than duller hued pigments of the same colour. According to Petri (1938-40: 236), the Bardi perceive the Rainbow Serpent alungun to be the creator of pearl shell, which it expels from its submarine cavern during the equinoctial or king tides. Petri (1938: 236) stresses the nature of alungun and its relationship to water on translation as "iridescent it rises from the sea as a rainbow; ascends into the sky and drinks to end the rains”. Pearl shell, plentiful at its source, durable, portable and shiny is filled with further symbolic power relating to well-being, beauty and harmony as well as being linked directly to Rainbow Serpents, water in its various forms, and lightning. PERSONAL ADORNMENT Perhaps the most common use ol pearl shell (apart from its role in rituals and economic exchange) is for personal adornment. Love (1917: 27-9) describes the Worora of the west Kimberley wearing large shells attached to hair belts, smaller shell blades hanging from neck cords between the shoulders, and other small pieces were tucked in headbands to lie over the forehead. Worora pearl shells were frequently plain, but they could be ornamented with a few rough scratchings representing the body scars common to the people of that area or sometimes outlines of fish. In a later publication. Love (1936: Plate facing p. 116) included a photograph of a child wearing an unornamented shell suspended from a spun fur belt. A photograph taken by Walter (1982: 71) on the Dampierland Peninsula (possibly at Beagle Bay Mission) shows five small boys holding boomerangs and wearing pearl shells, three of which arc obviously engraved. Throughout the Kimberley and desert areas of Western Australia, men and women wore small blades, discs and crescents ot pearl shell lor personal adornment (Plate 14). The wearing of smaller pieces of shell is considered to be informal, and the larger, more cumbersome shells are usually associated with formal events. According to Mary Durack (pers. comm.), bracelets and necklaces incorporating many small pendants ol shell were believed by the Nyul Nyul of the Dampierland Peninsula to have originated with the Guridid , a mythical race of small “pre-Aboriginal” people. Regardless ol size and use in personal adornment, however, pearl shell always possessed that extra “life giving” element that enhanced its character or beauty. As noted earlier, pearl shell served as important emblems of the various phases of Bardi and Nyulnyul initiations (Elkin 1936: 190-208). Piddington (1932b: 80) records a similar situation for the Karadjari ol the Eighty Mile Beach. In other areas of the north-west and in the Western Desert, shells were presented to young initiates as emblems signifying completion of their formal initiation and their entry' into adulthood and marriage (Plate 15). The Garawa and Wanyi people wear jarainara shells as emblems of particular formal social status O rigger 1987: 76). For example, a betrothed couple each wear shells for a period before formalizing their marriage. In some cases as noted earlier, larger plaques of shell were worn about the neck in both secular and ritual situations (Plate 16). Women may also wear such shells in formal situations. Larger shells, both pierced and unpierced, may be bound to other objects to form complex composite artefacts for specific rituals (Berndt et al. 1982: 112). 22 Kimberley pearl shell RAIN MAKING Being associated with water, pearl shell is inextricably bound to the Rainbow Snake, and through its manifestation as a rainbow, is linked to rain. The nacreous shell, with its subtle play of colours, is the essence of life-giving water and a vital medium of power. Such power may be used, not only to create rain, but also be harnessed for other supernatural activities. Strehlow (1947: 134-135) recorded that two tjurunga associated with the totemic rain centre of Lalkara near Horseshoe Bend in central Australia were sea shells. Unfortunately, he gave no detailed description of the objects and while it is likely that they were pearl shell, this cannot be definitely established. Large shells may be placed in pools or containers filled with water to attract rain. Such an event was noted in the Victoria River District in 1982, when a prominent leader at the Lingarra community was reported to have placed a pearl shell in a pool on the upper Victoria River to create seasonally unprecedented rainfall. The Nyikina of the Fitzroy River basin suspend pearl shell by hair belts or cords from a frame. It is believed that the shells, flashing lightning as they rotate in the breeze, attract rain-bearing clouds (Plate 17). The Kukaja at Balgo Hills and other Western Desert people employ hooked blades of pearl shell attached to lengths of hair-string to “pull in” rain-bearing clouds. These blades are associated with the Rainbow Serpent, Kutal, and are called wilany after the crescent¬ shaped rain clouds they are employed to attract. Further south and east, pearl shell was used in a variety of ways to make rain. These methods usually involved the scraping or grinding of the shell, thus releasing particles of its essence, and mixing the resultant powder with other substances such as spittle or water, whilst singing appropriate chants (R. and C. Berndt 1945: 134; Mountford 1976: 275-278). Such practices rapidly reduce the size of the shell and may explain the presence of small, highly treasured fragments of shell which are to be found in peripheral areas of pearl-shell distribution (Plate 18).Tonkinson (1974: 89-93) discusses the important Nga:wajil rain-making rituals performed at Jigalong that originated in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. Pearl shell, along with other objects and materials, plays an important role both in the construction of composite ritual objects and as an item of ritual apparel in the Nga:wajil rituals. MAGIC ANI) SORCERY Blades of shell, known widely as pintjapintja or pintjawintja , are relatively common objects throughout much of Western Australia. Used as pendants, forehead and temple adornments, or suspended in bunches from hair belts, they add a spectacular touch to formal occasions. They also possess “power” and may be kept for use in both positive and negative sorcery. Spencer and Gillen (1899: 545) describe the use of undecorated longka-longka pearl shell in love magic rituals by the Aranda and other central Australian Aboriginal groups. Tindalc (1987: 55) noted that the Kurama of the Hanrersley Ranges in the Pilbara received necklets of fur strung with pieces of pearl shell attached by resin obtained from the spinifex grass. These were said to have originated from the Ngaluma of the Nickol Bay area. If this is true, it is likely that they would have been fashioned from Pinctada albino albino. Small discs known as kinara are associated with the moon and are used in conjunction with propeller-type bullroarers for love magic in the Western Desert (Berndt 1959; Akerman and Bindon 1986). Such pieces are also said to bring luck in card games, particularly when incised with card suite symbols. Rationale for the association of the moon with love magic, especially if the desired person belongs to an inappropriate social category, can be found in a widespread Kimberley myth in which the Moon seduces his mother-in-law. Not withstanding that the Moon is punished for this breach of conduct, the initial seduction is seen to provide a mythic precedent and. as Kaberry (1937: 456) states, “pervert(s) what should serve as a warning to tribal infringement into a sanction for their own behaviour”. Pearl shell may also be used for sorcery purposes. Small shell blades, collected between 1948 and 1954 by B. Coaldrake at the old Forrest River Mission, now Oomboolgarri, in the east Kimberley, were said to be used by a cuckolded husband seeking revenge on an errant spouse. The blades were embedded upright on the spot where the woman had urinated, causing her to become ill and 23 Akerman with Stanton Plate 18. Even minute pieces of pearl shell are regarded as important sources of power for many Aboriginal healers. Ooldea, SA. Plate 19. The discoidal depres¬ sions on this shell indicate that it originated from a cultured pearl farm. Wiluna. WA. 24 Kimberley pearl shell Plate 20. Two sides of a small decorated blade of shell from Cape Leveque, WA. 25 Akerman with Stanton consequently a burden on her lover. These blades are now in the National Museum of Australia. <<\t Yuendumu the Warlpiri are said to have used pearl shell blades, hafted with resin to a length of hum^ii hair string, for projection sorcery (Cawte 1974: 49). In western Queensland, Roth (1897: l5g) reported that small, resin-hafted pearl shell pieces, attached to hair string, were regarded as powerful sorcery objects. These shells were said to be superseding the indigenous manguni pointing bones j,i importance as far east as the Cloncurry district. Shells originating from cultured pearl farms posse S s sharp-edged discoidal depressions indicating that cultured half-pearls had been removed. These shells are sometimes called motaka or turaak and are said to be used in sorcery designed to cause vehicle accidents. The discoidal areas represent dazzling headlights, or speeding wheels. Although engraved shells bearing these pearl farm indicators have been seen at Wiluna, they arc normally plain (Plate 19). Small pieces of pearl shell, occasionally less than 10 mm in length, were also part of a doctor’s equipment. These were known as tjakolo and mapan, in the Kimberleys and Western Desert respectively. Small blades bound to the temples by a head band, and larger blades fixed to long ropes of hair string were used to evoke dream-spirit travelling. Spencer and Gillen (1899: 545) state in a footnote that, "The longka-longka is also used as charm in connection with sickness of any kin