L. Marburduk

The Lorrkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated
by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log
which was decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it remained
until it slowly decayed over many years.
The log is made from a termite hollowed Stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) and is decorated with totemic
emblems. The western Arnhem Land version of the Lorrkon ceremony involves the singing of sacred songs to the
accompaniment of karlikarli, a pair of sacred boomerangs used as rhythm instruments. During the final evening
of the ceremony, dancers decorate themselves with kapok down, or today, cotton wool and conduct much of
the final segments of the ceremony in the secrecy of a restricted mens’ camp. The complete ceremony may
stretch over a period of two weeks, but on the last night the bones of the deceased, which have been kept in a
bark container or today wrapped in cloth and kept in a suitcase are taken out, are painted with red ochre and
placed inside the hollow log. This ceremony may take place many years after the person has died.
At first light on the final morning of the Lorrkon ceremony, the men appear, coming out of their secret bush
camp carrying the pole towards the women’s camp. The two groups call to each other using distinct
ceremonial calls. The women have prepared a hole for the pole to be placed into and when it is stood upright,
women in particular kinship relationships to the deceased dance around the pole in a jumping/shuffling motion.
The Lorrkon is then often covered with a tarpaulin and left to slowly decay.