wilgien.
/ˈwɪlɡi/, U.S. /ˈwɪlɡi/, Australian English /ˈwɪlɡi/ Australian.
A kind of red ochre used by Aboriginal people as a body paint.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > red colouring matter > [noun] > earths as colouring matter > used as body paint
wilgiec1837
c1837 H. W. Bunbury Early Days W. Austral. (1930) iii. 83 The Wilghi, which is a preparation of red earth and grease, constitutes their favorite ornament and covering.
1840 T. J. Buckton W. Austral. 96 Both smear themselves with a pigment they call wilga, which is red, and mixed with grease.
1857 W. S. Bradshaw Voyages 101 The natives are a very dirty race, they take a delight in smearing themselves with grease and wilgie.
1865 J. G. Knight Austral. Colonies at Internat. Exhib. 1862 17 Wilgi, an ochrish clay, which, when burned in the fire, turns to a bright brick-dust colour.
1929 W. J. Reside Golden Days 162 Native ochre, or what the natives call ‘wilgi’, is the material used for the painting of their bodies.
1961 D. Stuart Driven vi. 53 The long flat Kookoor, carved, and dark with red wilgie and great age.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1993; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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