Bathi are woven from the split leaves of the Screw Palm (Pandanus Spiralis). Coil weaving was introduced to Arnhem Land in the 1930s. It was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women throughout South East Australia.
Name: Julie Djulibing Malibirr
Language: Ganalbingu
Community: Ramingining
Biography:
Djulibing was born of a Ganalbingu father and Liyagalawumirri mother at Murrwangi - “no town, just a bush camp, and went to Milingimbi as a baby; then they took me to Darwin because of the war (WWII). -Really just outside at Kulpinya where I went to school”.
After the war she went back to Milingimbi with her parents by boat, the Arriwatha. Here she attended school for a short time - “I can’t remember who taught me, it wasn’t Miss Lowe; then I went to Galiwin'ku and worked in the gardens and cutting lawns working with a Fijian called Binaya’ and worked at weaving baskets and mats to Sheppy (Harold Shepherdson). Lamatha was a crew (sic) on a boat which brought us food like the barge. The captain was Willi and the boat was the Larrpan. I got married there to Lamatha at Galiwin'ku and had Matjarra and Dayn’kuli and Rrikili too. Many’tjurrpuy also and Rorrurruwuy and Marrawuma . These are all girls except for one boy.
We came back to Milingimbi - Matjarra was at school; David McLay was there. I worked in the store, Lamatha in the outstation centre. I still did my weaving. Then we shifted to Langarra and then to here [Ramingining].
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Bathi (Pandanus Basket) Bathi are woven from the split leaves of the Screw Palm (Pandanus Spiralis). Coil weaving was introduced to Arnhem Land in the 1930s. It was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women Read more…
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