Clapsticks are carved from ironwood and are made to accompany the didjeridu, used for ceremony and dancing. The distinctive sound of the clapsticks can be heard played ceaselessly into the night to honour the funeral rites of Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land. Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern Territory is the traditional home of the didjeridu, the only wind instrument of the Aborigines.
Name: Nicholas Pascoe
Language: Burarra (Martay), Barrada
Community: Maningrida
Biography:
Nicholas Pascoe is a senior artist from Maningrida. He is one member of three generations of the Pascoe Family who work with the art centre to produce high quality traditional artwork telling stories about life in Arnhem Land. Nicolas paints stories from the old days when Aboriginal people lived solely off the land and sea. He often paints fish and plants and is passing on his clan's traditional designs. Nicolas taught his sons and nephews to paint.
Yawkyawk Yawkyawk is a word in the Kunwinjku/Kunwok language of Western Arnhem Land meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’. The different groups of Kunwinjku people (one of the Eastern dialect groups call themselves Read more…
Burnpa (Butterfly) Bark paintings have a long cultural tradition, believed to extend back many thousands of years. In northern Australia, the walls of bark shelters in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land may well have been painted to convey Read more…
Jarlambu (Freshwater Catfish) Bark paintings have a long cultural tradition, believed to extend back many thousands of years. In northern Australia, the walls of bark shelters in the Kimberley and Arnhem Land may well have been painted to Read more…