Item X 83638 waangk yompan | Bag. Wik Mungkan. Aurukun, West Cape York, Queensland, Australia. 1980

Summary

Bags are often made from string spun from the inner bark of the youngest cabbage fan palm (coryphe). Other sources for string fibre include barks wattle, fig, kurrajong and hibiscus.The sapling is removed and carried home, split, processed to isolate the soft strong inner fibre that is then spun into two-ply string using deft movement of the flat hand on the thigh. Bags are looped, twined or knotted by hand and this is done without a needle or loom. The only equipment necessary for making a string bag is one or two supporting sticks driven into the ground.

Local Name

waangk yompan

Physical Description

A string bag made from cabbage fan palm (Livistona sp.) using a knotless stitch. The handle is overwound with string and attached to the rim on opposite sides.