Marcy Garcia

Tiwi People Pukamani Ceremony

The Tiwi of Tiwi islands are people who lived in Bathurst and Melville islands near the

coast of Australia. The word Tiwi means one people who only speak one native language.

Pukumani means taboo to the Tiwi people. The Tiwi culture places an importance on making

sure the deceased reach the afterlife. In this paper I will be examining a ritual called the

Pukumani ceremony including the significance, duration, participants and the connection of the

ceremony to course readings.

The Tiwi of Tiwi islands are people who participate in a ritual act of burial called

Pukumani ceremony. The main significance of this ritual is to help the spirit of a person who is

deceased transition from the living world into the sprit world. The ritual showcases how

important dancing is for the Tiwi because during the ceremony they dance to demonstrate the

connection between them and the dead. Pukumani ceremony is a communal ceremony that

presents dance, song, traditional body painting and some sculptures. A Pukumani ceremony is

performed in months after the person who dead has been decreased and buried the ritual is

performed. In Tiwi culture a deceased person is still wandering in the living world if the

Pukumani ceremony is not done.

The Pukamani ceremony includes a final ceremony where a peak of ceremonies is still

performed months after the burial of the deceased. In contrast to the Pukumani theres one

ceremony for the funeral which is known as Iliana. The ceremony is performed in an area

embellished with Pukumani poles that made from many months of tedious work which are said

to be breathtaking. The importance of the poles is to exhibit the position and honor the person
who is dead held in his community. Dancers performing the Pukumani ceremony hide their

identity from the dead person spirit by disguising themselves in elaborate body painting designs.

Relatives of the deceased who are dancers wear pamajini which are decorated armbands.

Pamajini are intertwine from leaves of a plant called pandanus or screw palm which are then

embellished with ochres and the white cockatoo feathers. In Pukumani ceremony the

significance of the white cockatoo feathers is to reserve a lookout on lost spirits of the dead in

their rite of passage to an island where the dead is kept. For the Tiwi people kinship plays a

crucial part in Pukumani ceremony because the widow, the father, the mother and siblings of the

disease are compelled to dance. The ceremony is completed when the death song also called

waling sounds of the Amburu have finished the deceased gave is abandoned with the burial poles

allowing for decay.

Pukumani ceremony relates in a way to the class reading common sources of power

within indigenous religious ways by being categorized as ancestor worship. Ancestor worship

offers ceremonies like the Pukumani opportunity to provide honor for deceased family members.

Elaborate burial ceremony which include Pukumani are a source of power for the Tiwi people.

The reading for this class that relates to Pukumani ceremony is relationship with spirits

animism ancestor. The Tiwi people believed their ancestors are still roaming the living world

even after death. Honoring their status, they had in the living world helps them link their living

life which was their past to after life which is their future. In Tiwi culture lineage is known by

your ancestors.

Ideological rituals are that display the sentiments, control behavior and mood of

indigenous groups. The Pukumani is an example of a rite of passage because it follows the three

stages of separation, transition, and incorporation. Also the type of the rite of passage is death.
The phase of separation can be shown by the deceased being alienated for the first couple months

after the funeral. Also the journey that deceased has in order to reside in the living world until the

completion of the Pukumani ceremony. This ceremony showcases a transitional phase by having

a period of confusion where the deceased is still believed to be residing in the living world when

they should be in the afterlife. The phase of transition can be showed by the deceased having his

burial site decorated with embellished Pukumani poles that show off his status as a part of Tiwi

custom. The phase of incorporation can be showed by the ceremony itself and the exchange of

gifts, dancing, and immediate family being a part of the rituals also community. The gifts

exchange during the ceremony include the embellished Pukumani poles that are delicately

decorated and carved for this occasion. Dancing is incorporated by using a disguise to help keep

their identity a secret from the deceased which is in the form of body painting. The family must

wear the symbolical pamajini armband during the ritual.

In class we did a reading on religion and globalization and Pukumani ceremony is a good

example of this idea. Today the Pukumani ceremony has a merge with some Christianity

elements. One the elements include the organization of a head mourner which in Christianity

could be the priest who then is helped by other mourners also know in Christianity as deacons.

The use of white body paint showcases how Christianity because the color symbolizes faith and

purity.

I believe we should learn more about the Pukumani ceremony because its symbolizes

religion and globalization in a unexpected way which was the use of white body paint which is a

symbol for purity which is enforced heavily in Christianity. Also serves an example for scared

rituals that showcase powers and animism of an indigenous group ancestors. The Pukumani

ceremony significance helps make the connection of how important ancestors burial and the
ultimate goal of helping them achieved the afterlife. The duration of the Pukumani includes a

beginning. middle and final stage. In order for a Pukumani ceremony to occur family members

must participants in the ceremony especially the dancing portion.

 Works Cited Page

College, Tiwi. "Culture." Tiwi College. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.tiwicollege.com/culture.php>.

Wonaeamirri, Pedro. "Burial-Pukamani, Tiwi Islands." Australian Museum. N.p., 22 Oct. 2009.

Web. 01 Apr. 2017. <https://australianmuseum.net.au/burial-pukumani-tiwi-islands>.