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A carved stick carrying a message.
Also known as: Message stick Australia
The Australian Aboriginal incised stick carried between groups with a message.
Accompanies a messenger travelling between groups, carrying or authenticating a message.
Contexts: History, Public information
Carried by a person who also spoke the message, so the stick authenticated the messenger and aided recall rather than encoding the message in full — the same relationship between object and keeper as the wampum belt and the winter count.
Contexts: History, Public information
Conventions varied widely between regions and languages, so a stick is read against its own region's practice and not against a general key.
Contexts: History, Public information
A length of wood incised with lines, dots, notches and geometric figures along its faces, carried by a messenger.
Both authenticate and aid the recall of a message held by a person rather than encoding it in full.