Kurdaitcha facts for kids

A kurdaitcha, also called a kurdaitcha man or featherfoot, is a special person in some Aboriginal groups, especially the Arrernte people in Central Australia. They are like a shaman, which is a spiritual leader or healer. The word featherfoot is used by other Aboriginal peoples for the same kind of person.

The kurdaitcha might be asked to punish someone who has done wrong, sometimes even causing their death. This can involve a ritual called bone-pointing. The word kurdaitcha can also refer to special shoes worn by these people. These shoes are made from feathers and human hair and are sometimes treated with blood.

Understanding Traditional Beliefs

In traditional Aboriginal cultures, people often believed that deaths were not natural. Instead, they thought deaths were caused by evil spirits or spells, often from an enemy. If someone was dying, they might whisper the name of the person they thought was responsible. If the guilty person wasn't known, a "magic man" would look for clues, like an animal burrow leading from the grave. This could take a long time, but the person was always believed to be found eventually.

The elders of the group would then meet to decide on a punishment. Sometimes, a kurdaitcha would be asked to help get revenge for the death.

The Illapurinja

An illapurinja is like a female kurdaitcha. Her name means "the changed one." A husband might secretly send an illapurinja to get revenge for a wrong, like if a woman didn't show enough sadness by cutting herself when a family member died. People believed the illapurinja was a myth, but the fear of her was enough to make sure people followed customs.

Kurdaitcha in Modern Times

By the 1900s, the practice of kurdaitcha had mostly stopped in southern Australia. However, it was still sometimes done in the north.

In 1952, a newspaper reported that some Indigenous men died after seeing a kurdaitcha man near The Granites gold mine in the Tanami Desert. They were very scared and performed a corroboree (a traditional dance) to scare away evil spirits. An anthropologist named Ted Strehlow and doctors investigated. They believed the deaths were likely caused by poor food and lung sickness. Strehlow also said that Aboriginal belief in "black magic" was generally fading away.

Kurdaitcha Shoes: Special Footwear

Europeans often used the name kurdaitcha to describe special oval-shaped shoes made of feathers. These shoes were supposedly worn by the kurdaitcha man. The Aboriginal names for these shoes are interlinia in northern Australia and intathurta in the south.

The bottom part of the shoes is made from emu feathers. The top part is made from human hair or animal fur. Many early European descriptions said that human blood was used to stick the parts together. However, some experts think that while blood might have been used for magical power, the main way the parts were joined was by a process called felting. The top of the shoe is covered with a net woven from human hair. There's an opening in the middle for the foot.

Sometimes, women and children were allowed to see these shoes. Other times, only adult men were allowed to see them. When not being used, the shoes were wrapped in kangaroo skin or hidden in a sacred place. They could be used more than once but usually only lasted for one journey. When worn, they were decorated with white and pink down and were said to leave no tracks.

Some researchers noted that real kurdaitcha shoes had a small opening on one side. This was where a dislocated little toe could be placed.

Aboriginal people also started making kurdaitcha shoes to sell to Europeans. Some of these shoes were too small to actually be worn. Until the 1970s, these shoes were popular craft items sold to visitors in central and western Australia.

Bone Pointing: A Powerful Curse

Aboriginal people believed that a person could die if a bone was pointed at them in a ritual. After this ritual, victims were thought to become very weak and uncaring. They would often refuse food or water, and death could happen within days of being "cursed." If a victim survived, it was believed the ritual was not done correctly.

In Australia, bone pointing is still known enough that hospitals and nurses are taught how to help people who believe they are sick because of "bad spirits" or bone pointing.