| Description |
This string figure represents white cockatoos (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Cacatua galerita). This string figure represents white cockatoos (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Cacatua galerita). White cockatoos are not eaten, and are one of very few bird species that the Awiakay sometimes keep as pets.
White cockatoo frequently occurs as a character in Awiakay myths. Its feathers are used as head decoration. During the all-night song/dance cycle called Kaunjambi the singers/dancers who put white cockatoo’s feathers into their hair are believed to become spirits of the ancestors (for more on that song cycle see Hoenigman 2015a: 197-253).
When this string figure is finished and the design representing white cockatoos emerges, another move is made and the white cockatoos are said to fly away.
Images:
01: Darja Munbaŋgoapik showing the final design ‘white cockatoos’
02: Darja Munbaŋgoapik showing white cockatoos who’ve flown away
rita). White cockatoos are not eaten, and are one of very few bird species that the Awiakay sometimes keep as pets. |
