Description
This is a trial proof of an etching plate that was later editioned in another state. As such it is unique and eminently collectable.
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.
