purinjiti

Tiwi

Noun

purinjiti m

1. (archaic) A message stick used by news-bearers for safety when travelling into the territories of other peoples.

Usage notes

The term purinjiti can be used in modern times for modern communication, i.e. the presence of telephones, fax machines, etc.

References

• Mark Abley, Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages (2003)

Further reading

• music inspired by the concept of purinjiti