churinga

American  

[choo-ring-guh] / tʃʊˈrɪŋ gə /

noun

• churinga,
  plural
• churingas
  plural

1. an object carved from wood or stone by Aboriginal tribes in central Australia and held by them to be sacred.

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churinga British  

/ tʃəˈrɪŋɡə /

noun

1. a sacred amulet of the native Australians

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• churinga
  plural
• churingas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of churinga

First recorded in 1895–1900, churinga is from the Aranda word jwerreŋe

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

churinga

If I have established the parallelism between Arunta churinga nanja and the disputed Clyde “pendants,” which Dr. Munro denies, we are reduced to one of two theories. 

From The Clyde Mystery a Study in Forgeries and Folklore by Andrew Lang

Wherever the toy is used for a superstitious purpose, it is, so far, churinga, and, so far, modern Aberdeenshire had the same churinga irula as the Arunta. 

From The Clyde Mystery a Study in Forgeries and Folklore by Andrew Lang

He made a sketch of this object, from p. 24memory: if found in Central Australia it would have been reckoned a churinga nanja.

From The Clyde Mystery a Study in Forgeries and Folklore by Andrew Lang

There is a legend that, of old, men hung up the perforated churinga on the sacred Nurtunja pole: and so they still have perforated stone churinga, not usually more than a foot in length.

From The Clyde Mystery a Study in Forgeries and Folklore by Andrew Lang

Churinga, over a foot in length, they tell us, are not usually perforated; many churinga are not perforated, many are: but the Arunta do not p. 109know why some are perforated. 

From The Clyde Mystery a Study in Forgeries and Folklore by Andrew Lang