The Tiwi poles came from Bathurst and Melville in Northern America, The totem poles originated from the indigenous people of Alaska and British Columbia.
Totem poles are made by carving a long log like wood or a tree trunk and the family selects men not that close to the dead person to carve the log, although the family of the deceased person has to pay the person that had carved the wood. After the pole is carved they coat the finished wood with wax, honey or egg yolks. The Tiwi islanders made totem poles so they could release the ‘mobiditi’ into the spirit world.
A Pukumani burial ceremony
All the participants that attend the ceremony are to be painted in white ochre and to wear armbands decorated with white feathers and made from pandanus.
Totem poles are made by carving a long log like wood or a tree trunk and the family selects men not that close to the dead person to carve the log, although the family of the deceased person has to pay the person that had carved the wood. After the pole is carved they coat the finished wood with wax, honey or egg yolks. The Tiwi islanders made totem poles so they could release the ‘mobiditi’ into the spirit world.
A Pukumani burial ceremony
All the participants that attend the ceremony are to be painted in white ochre and to wear armbands decorated with white feathers and made from pandanus.