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Garradjain Country – Rose’s Yard

This is Mary’s mothers country, down on Springvale Station. That country is called Garradjain. The country is part of the Garnkiny (moon) dreaming. Seen in the painting are the grass bundles as green circles. These bundles were rolled up and thrown into the water. They’d sink and then fish would hide in the mass of grass, particularly to seek shelter from the cranes and other birds. The grass would be pulled up after a while, trapping the fish in the grass. The yellow bands are the two main rivers of Garradjain country, Rose’s Yard Creek (on the right) and Little Panton River (on the left). In the bottom of the picture you can see Garnkiny, the moon, who walked the lands now known as Springvale Station during the Ngarrangkarni, the Dreamtime, when he was a man. Mary has also included three Joomoolony (boab) trees in this painting of country. 

Categories: WARMUN ART

Name: MARY THOMAS


Language: Gija


Community: Warmun


Biography:

Mary Thomas was born in August 1944 on Alice Downs Station in the East Kimberley. She is the mother of nine children, lives in Warmun Community (Turkey Creek) and is an important Gija law and culture keeper.

Thomas grew up and worked on Alice Downs Station until she moved to Warmun Community. Mary has been a tireless worker for the women and children of her community, teaching culture, craft, art and associated Dreamtime Stories of the land and her heritage.

Mary speaks a number of dialects and is a dedicated linguist, and has interpreted for meetings, court procedures and very importantly for a publication about the Gija people titled ‘Digging Sticks to Writing Sticks’ by Sister Veronica Ryan of the Catholic Education Department.

Mary’s artworks include neat and precise landscape works, complete with in-depth Ngarranggarni (Gija Dreaming) stories. Thomas paints the Ngarranggarni (Dreamings) of her country on Alice Downs Station. Through her paintings, she passes on these stories as well as relating events from the more recent past since white contact.

Mary is actively involved with 'Two- Way' worship in Warmun which is a combination of traditional Gija Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) and Catholicism.

Thomas is also a traditional healer. She holds much knowledge about the therapeutic qualities of many plants found in Gija country and is an expert in their preparation for use in traditional therapies.


© the artist / art centre