Historical information

Pointing bones were ritualistically used by sorcerers for magic. The 'magic' and 'sorcery' from 'pointing the bone' can involve the ritual removal of organs from the body, done when a person is asleep, and then put back into the person unknowingly. In this way a person can be 'sung' but will be unaware of it.

Significance

This pointing bone was originally given to Sir Wilfred Fish, FRCS, who was a Kings Surgeon and had been giving lectures in Sydney in the 1920s on his specialty, maxillofacial surgery. His daughter, Mrs Vivian Greaves, gave this item to Sir Keith Drayton some years later.

Physical description

Pointing bone, from Central Australia. The object is a carved macropod fibula. At one end there is a blob of resin and an attachment of human hair in a string. At the other end, the bone has been sharpened to a point.