ed with feather down: these too represent stylized versions
of territories within their mythic context. In such circum-
stances, tjurungas are hung from pole emblems or are worn
in the men’s headdresses. Since these objects are considered
to be ritually and mythologically alive, they signify that the
mythic being is actually present in a spiritual form.
The major function of tjurungas is to provide a tangible,
visible representation of personal and social identity, but it
is in fact much more than this. The tjurunga affirms and reaf-
firms a particular group’s rights to a specific stretch of coun-
try through the land-based associations of mythic person-
ages. These objects are always stored close to the places to
which they belong, and such sites fall within different local
group territories, the members of which are their custodians.
When Aborigines moved away from their own countries as
a result of European contact and eventually settled on gov-
ernment and mission stations, they brought some of their sa-
cred objects with them, leaving others behind at their mythic
sites. Smaller tjurungas, however, are often carried from one
place to another when groups gather to hold large rituals that
involve both men and women. In the Western Desert, these
meetings, in which expressions of hostility are forbidden, are
also occasions for settling interpersonal and intragroup dis-
putes and grievances.
Deep reverence and respect are displayed toward all
tjurungas, whether they are of stone or of wood. For example,
fully initiated men may be specially invited to have revealed
to them particular boards stored within a repository. This
revelation must take place in the presence of a senior man
who has the religious right to show them and explain their
significance. In such cases, the boards have been prepared by
a small group of elders who reanoint them with red ocher
mixed with fat: they are treated as if they are living creatures.
On approaching the place, the invited men use small branch-
es of leaves to stroke the backs and heads of the sitting elders.
This act is said to insulate the power that is believed to be
inherent in the tjurungas and that can be dangerous to the
unprepared. Mythic songs are sung and explained, and the
objects are pressed to the bodies of the men who are seeing
them for the first time. This action indicates that the men
share in their power, which is regarded as eternal and is sym-
bolized by the tjurunga objects.
SEE ALSO Dreaming, The.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berndt, Ronald M. Australian Aboriginal Religion. Leiden, 1974.
Provides the first general view of Australian Aboriginal reli-
gion. It has iconographical references and is profusely illus-
trated.
Berndt, Ronald M., and Catherine H. Berndt, with John E. Stan-
ton. Aboriginal Australian Art: A Visual Perspective. Sydney,
- A comprehensive coverage of traditional and innova-
tive Aboriginal art within its sociocultural context. Illus-
trated.
Davidson, Daniel S. “The Possible Source and Antiquity of the
Slate Churingas of Western Australia.” Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society 97 (1953): 194–213. Al-
though this article is based on limited materials, it continues
to be the only significant study of Western Australian
tjurungas.
Spencer, Baldwin, and F. J. Gillen. The Native Tribes of Central
Australia. London, 1899. An early study of central Australian
Aboriginal societies. Contains much material from traditions
that are no longer extant and is especially rich in descriptions
of Aranda ritual.
Strehlow, T. G. H. Aranda Traditions. Melbourne, 1947. This
provides a discussion of the broad Aranda concept of the
term tjurunga, with a number of ritual examples.
Strehlow, T. G. H. “The Art of the Circle, Line and Square.” In
Australian Aboriginal Art, edited by Ronald M. Berndt,
pp. 44–59. Sydney, 1964. Provides an examination of the
iconography of central Australian tjurungas, especially those
of the Aranda, and also makes comparisons with Western
Desert sacred boards.
JOHN E. STANTON (1987)TLALOC, the pan-Mesoamerican deity of rain and fertili-
ty, was named by the Aztec, or Mexica, of Central Mexico.
They chose a word derived from the Nahuatl term meaning
“he is the embodiment of the earth.” Other fertility deities
throughout Mesoamerica include Chac among the Maya,
Cocijo among the Zapotec, Tzahui among the Mixtec, and
Tajin among the Totonac. Many of these deities continue
to be worshiped by the contemporary indigenous people of
Mesoamerica.
Tlaloc made his first appearance at Teotihuacan be-
tween 200 and 700 CE. He is depicted iconographically in
murals and temples with round, “goggle” eyes and a fanged
mouth. He strongly resembles a jaguar, with predatory fea-
tures. At Teotihuacan, ideas regarding rain, fertility, wealth,
and prestige were combined with human sacrifice and
warfare.
More detailed textual information exists regarding
Tlaloc during the Mexica period (1325–1521 CE). During
the calendar year, which for the Aztec consisted of eighteen
twenty-day “months” and five “unlucky days,” approximate-
ly half of the ceremonies were dedicated to Tlaloc. These cer-
emonies—such as human sacrifices, fasting, and feasts—
focused on topics such as ancestors, food, rain, and fertility.
Worship of Tlaloc, therefore, encompassed a wide spectrum
of Mesoamerican concerns and articulated more general un-
derstandings of the entire cosmology.
Water was an important element in Mesoamerican reli-
gions. Its presence in the iconography at ceremonial centers
illustrates its material and symbolic importance. The circula-
tion of water through the ceremonial precinct was intimately
associated with the deities who were housed in temples there.
According to the Aztec cosmology, all material existence
was surrounded by water. In Nahuatl, the language of theTLALOC 9213