Description
Medium: Etching
Edition Size: 45
Published: Brisbane, QLD, April 2006
Created: Queensland College of Art Brisbane QLD September 2004
Printer: David Jones
Studio: Under The House Of Art Brisbane, QLD
Image size: 240 x 250
Paper size: 330 x 350
Paper: Magnani 350gsm
This work identifies the totems on Badu Island: the dog (Umai), crocodile (Kodal), dugong (Dangal) and stingray (Tutmul). Totems differentiate tribes in the Western Torres Strait islands, which affect marital relations in particular. Only people from different clans are allowed to marry, and just before marriage the female is initiated into her future husband’s clan. The patterning around the totems is unique to Badu Island and is often engraved into masks and spearheads.
