Churinga votive stone 

Australia
19th century or earlier
Carved stone
Height : 46 cm - Width : 15 cm
Provenance: Field-collected by George Aiston (1879 – 1943)
Ex. collection Lindsay Black (1886-1959)
Ex. collection Black’s Museum, Mount Gambier, South Australia
Ex. collection Wayne Heathcote
Price: 16.000 euros

Churinga (or Tjurunga) votive boards of the Central Desert in Australia are sacred objects symbolizing the spirits of the ancestors and marking the place of the clan in the world. Each tribe, clan, family, are connected to animals, plants or inanimate objects. The myths and relationships between each human group are inscribed in the churinga. These ties are highlighted during aboriginal ceremonies, songs and peregrinations that are often described as "Songlines". The conventional tracks recall the legends and symbols that will help the holder to recall the founding myths. Churingas were carved with great care and patience. These revered objects could only be seen by initiated men during ceremonial times. The rest of the year, churingas were preciously wrapped in tapa (bark) cloth or in animal skins and kept in sacred places.

PRESENTED BY:
Julien Flak