View source for Buka cloak

{{Short description|Cloak worn by Noongar peoples of Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
A '''buka''' (also ''boka'' or ''booka'') is a cloak traditionally worn by [[Noongar]] peoples, the [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]] peoples of south-west [[Western Australia]], and by the Indigenous peoples of [[South Australia]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Portrait Aboriginal woman Teenminnie, wife of Pelican, wearing a kangaroo skin cloak, Point McLeay... - Catalogue {{!}} National Library of Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-148825818/view|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Aboriginal woman in a kangaroo skin cloak carrying a child, South Australia, ca. 1860.jpg|thumb|Aboriginal woman in a kangaroo skin cloak carrying a child, {{circa|1860}}]]
Unlike in the south-east, where peoples such as [[Yorta Yorta people|Yorta Yorta]] wore [[possum-skin cloak]]s, Noongar peoples generally use the [[Kangaroo leather|pelt of the kangaroo]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Food {{!}} Kaartdijin Noongar|url=https://www.noongarculture.org.au/food/|access-date=2020-12-04}}</ref> While in the southeast, there was much sewing involved, there was less involved in the south-west where large skins were sewn together instead. The buka normally consists of the whole skin of two to three kangaroos sewn together, with the tail hanging at the bottom of the cloak. The skins were sewn together using kangaroo sinew or rushes.<ref>{{Cite book|last=George Fletcher Moore|title=A Descriptive Vocabulary of the Language in Common Use Amongst the Aborigines of Western Australia|publisher=W. S. Orr & Company|year=1842|pages=20}}</ref>
The cloak was worn over one shoulder and under the other. It was fastened at the neck using a small piece of bone or wood. Wearing the cloak in this way allowed for unrestricted movement of both arms, enabling daily activities to be carried out with ease. Cloaks were reversible: they were worn with the fur on the inside when it was particularly cold, and could be turned the other way when it was raining. The cloaks were also used as rugs to sleep on at night.
Today many Aboriginal people have new cloaks and rugs made from kangaroo skins. They are used in performances or worn for warmth.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-10|title=Aboriginal skin cloaks|url=https://www.nationalquiltregister.org.au/aboriginal-skin-cloaks/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=National Quilt Register|language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-02-12|title=National Quilt Register: Aboriginal skin cloaks|url=http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/nqr/fabri.php|access-date=2020-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212072751/http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/nqr/fabri.php|archive-date=12 February 2014}}</ref> [[Ken Wyatt]], Australia's first Indigenous cabinet minister, wore a traditional buka when delivering his first speech to parliament in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gary Nunn|first=Frances Mao|date=28 May 2019|title=Ken Wyatt: Australia's first indigenous cabinet minister|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-48418359}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Indigenous Australians}}
[[Category:History of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Robes and cloaks]]
[[Category:Noongar]]
[[Category:History of Oceanian clothing]]
[[Category:Australian inventions]]
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal clothing]]