Aboriginal Kurdaitcha Shoes #1
#153005
A pair of aboriginal "kurdaitcha" feather shoes, Arunta tribe, Central Desert, Australia. Made of emu feathers, human hair string, these are well described by the pioneering anthropologist Sir Baldwin Spencer in the Guide to the Australian Ethnographical Collection in the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, 1901.
"A Kurdaitcha man is one who has either been formally selected , or goes out on his own initiative, to kill an individual who is accused of having injured someone by magic... Each shoe consists of a pad of emu feathers... the upper part consists of human hair string plaited into a net... It is commonly stated that the object of the shoes is to conceal the track of the wearer, but inamsuch as an overturned stone or a blade of grass pressed down is quite sufficient to reveal to a native not only the fact that someone has been walking, but also the direction in which he has walked, the most that the shoes can do is to prevent it being known exactly who has made the track…” And according to Thomas in The Native Races of the Empire, Natives of Australia, London, 1906, Kurdaitcha shoes were hidden away when not in use..." No woman or child may see them."
Distinguishing this pair of kurdaitcha is the use of commercial string alongside the traditional human hair netting, and emu feathers. Aboriginals were not averse to making use of new materials as they became available. This pair, likely circa 1930-1945, shows considerable wear, and some age flaking. But as a pair which might be termed transitional in the mix of materials used, they are particularly interesting and rare. From an old English collection.
Length: 22 cm / 8 ¾ in
Width: 13.5 cm / 5 ¼ in
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