Item X 10778 Ornament, unidentified. Warumungu. Tennant Creek, Desert North, Northern Territory, Australia. 1901

Summary

Aboriginal people in central Australia produced a variety of body ornaments for ceremonial and decorative purposes. Headbands, armlets, aprons, pubic tassels, pendants, neckbands and other ornaments were made from materials such as human-hair string, feathers, animal bones and spinifex resin. This item was generally worn by woman as a headband with the pendant placed over the forehead. In some cases, these ornaments were 'sung' to give them certain magical powers and were traded between neighbouring groups.

Physical Description

An ornament made of human hair string with kangaroo incisors embedded in resin.