Kayimwagakimi Jilamara
Artist:
Raelene Kerinauia
(Indigenous Australian, born 1962)
Place made:Northern Territory, Australia
General region:Oceania
Date: 2007
Medium: Natural ochres on linen
Dimensions:
35 7/16 x 27 9/16 in. (90 x 70 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of the Lam Family
Object number: 2016.14.30
Copyright: © Raelene Kerinauia
Provenance: Sold through Jilamara Arts and Crafts, Milikapiti, to May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam; May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam, by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016
Label Text
To achieve the delicate line of fine dots in this painting, Raelene Kerinauia applied pigment with a Tiwi painting comb called a kayimwagakimi. Carved from bloodwood or ironwood, the comb is approximately six inches in length and traditionally used to apply ceremonial body painting. The linear motifs seen here (called jilamara) are likewise drawn from ceremonial body painting—in particular from the Tiwi Pukumani mortuary ceremony. Many Indigenous Australians, including the Tiwi, observe complex taboos around death and mourning. In fact, pukumani means “dangerous,” or “taboo,” in Tiwi, and the ceremony is performed to lift these prohibitions from the family and bring peace to the deceased’s soul. Participants in the Pukumani ceremony disguise their bodies with jilamara to avoid being recognized by death.
(Exhibition label, 2017)
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
