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Winta ~ Punishment Spear, 2023

$410.00

  • 163cm x 5cm x 5.2cm
  • 2023
  • Wanaṟi ~ Mulga Wood
  • Catalog No: 1148-C109B2-23

Known collectively as punu, the carvings of Anangu (Central and Western Desert Aboriginal people) have their beginnings in the Tjukurpa when the Creation Ancestors fashioned the first weapons and tools, setting down the laws and conventions of their design. Highly experienced craftsmen having grown up making traditional tools and weapons under the instruction of their fathers and grandfathers. The knowledge involved in this ‘men’s business’ is inherited and passed on through the Tjukurpa or traditional Law.
The winta is a long straight  spear made from wanari or mulga wood and usually without a barb attached to the end. On rarer occasions a man will attach a barb to the mulga wood shaft as an extra law enforcement measure. Using this type of winta is a more severe punishment and needs great skill to inflict. The winta is used in keeping peace and settling disputes between men:
‘Tjana pikangku wakalpai wati tjuntangka. AnanguTjilpi‘
They spear a man in the thigh to settle disputes.’ Senior Aboriginal man
Lee began carving stylised versions of the traditional winta in the winter of 2023.

Available

Price includes shipping within Australia, please contact us for international shipping.