Pwoja-Pukumani Body Paint Design

Traditional Tiwi Culture placed special significance on the Pukumani (funeral) ceremony. Mourners are decorated using natural ochres as a disguise themselves from the spirit of the deceased and song and dance is performed to honour the dead. Pwoja (bodypaint) is the source of many contemporary Tiwi designs and performance of the pukumani as ritual helps to reinvigorate the imagery.