Tunga (bark basket)

Funerary ceremonies

The people of the Tiwi Islands, off the coast of Darwin, make tutini (funerary posts) for pukumani (funerary ceremonies), which occur some months after a burial. Pukumani bridge the world of the living and the world of those who once lived.

In pukumani, tutini are placed around the burial site, with tunga (bark baskets) on top. The body paintings of the participants mirror the tutini and tunga designs. After the pukumani, the sacred restrictions are lifted and the items are left to break down – as illustrated by the older tutini here.

Tunga also have their place in creation stories. In one Tiwi story, an old woman named Murtankala emerged from the earth on Melville Island, carrying her children in a tunga. To provide for them, she created the animals and clothed the land in vegetation.