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Turtles and Snakes at Gunbarranga
Johnny Bulunbulan is a senior member of the Ganalbingu group and is one of the most important singers and Lives with the Burarra People at Wurdeja.
This painting depicts aspects of a large estate called Gunbarranga which lies around the seaward, “Bottom”, part of the Arafura Swamp. “Gunbarranga is biggest name for biggest country for Ganalbingu. For my father and grandfather.” the top Half shows Guwaynang, The fresh water long-necked turtle ( Chelodonia oblonga) and Marrur.tu, an unidentified tree which grows along the banks of creeks. Guwaynang is an especially important creature in Ganalbingu cosmology and is Bulunbulan’s personal totem. ‘He is the most important one because it was him that made my country and my people. ‘Before Guwaynang there was nothing. Marrur.tu is about the size of a banana tree and also has “really big” leaves; it is crowned by a red flower. “ Guwaynang is living at same place as that Marrur.tu Guwaynang make that place.’
The bottom half of the painting depicts a frieze of various snakes. Counting from left to right (the small snake at the top mid-left being #5 and the head of a snake at bottom mid-right being #10), the snakes are : 1 and 2 – golonggolg, a water snake or rainbow snake ; 3 and 7 – Biparran, a small snake up to 1 metre in length which is eaten as tucker ; 4,5 and 6 – Barringan, a water snake which always hunts in pairs; and 8 , 9 ,10 , 11, 12 and 13 – Gunungu, a black-headed python. Golonggolong and Gunungu are also associated with storms and rain: “one day they split and make rain. When they singing they make rain”.
The two halves of the painting are separated by a horizontal band which represents a dead log. This log is extremely sacred for the Ganalbingu who are the only ones that are allowed to paint it and it is associated with a very secret story. “That log has been like- you don’t know, I don’t know. Since dreamtime. It’s my father dreamtime and grandfather. “The log comes from a particular place called Junggibarparnyamurru but it can be depicted across painting of ant Ganalbingu country.
The cross- hatched borders represent the expanses of Ganalbingu country.
