May 2022

Mandjabu (Fish Trap) – Susan Marawarr

“In old times people would make these mandjabu (fish traps) to go fishing. They are made with vine we find in the jungle. That old man, Anchor Gulunba, he showed me how to make these fish traps. I would sit there and watch him making them. We catch barramundi, catfish, all kinds of fish.” – Helen Lanyinwanga

Kuninjku people traditionally make two sorts of conical fish traps. One called mandjabu made from a vine called milil, and another smaller one called manylik mandjabu, made from the grass manylik. The mandjabu conical fish trap is bigger and stronger and used in tidal reaches of creeks to catch large fish. The smaller, lighter manylik trap is used in freshwater flowing creeks to catch smaller fish and freshwater prawns. Traditionally, only men were involved in the construction of the large fish traps, but children would often crawl inside and assist.

To make fish traps and fish net fences artists firstly get vine (milil) from the jungle and they put it in water for one night to make it soft. Next they start weaving it; they make rings for the inside to keep the fish trap’s shape. Artists work for three or four weeks on the fish trap. They also make string from kurrajong (burdaga) to attach the hibiscus (bardainy) rings and to tie the conical end of the fish trap. This fish trap is used in saltwater and freshwater. People also use fish net fences called mun-dirra. A long time ago they would put the mun-dirra across rivers and creeks. In the middle they would place the an-gujechiya. They also used small things like sticks, rocks, mud and grass to block the fish from going through. People would then catch fish like saltwater barramundi rajarra, freshwater barramundi (janambal), small black freshwater catfish (buliya), bonefish (an-guwirrpiya), and sand bass (dalakan) in these fish traps.

Mandjabu (Fish Trap) – Susan Marawarr

“In old times people would make these mandjabu (fish traps) to go fishing. They are made with vine we find in the jungle. That old man, Anchor Gulunba, he showed me how to make these fish traps. I would sit there and watch him making them. We catch barramundi, catfish, all kinds of fish.” – Helen Lanyinwanga

Kuninjku people traditionally make two sorts of conical fish traps. One called mandjabu made from a vine called milil, and another smaller one called manylik mandjabu, made from the grass manylik. The mandjabu conical fish trap is bigger and stronger and used in tidal reaches of creeks to catch large fish. The smaller, lighter manylik trap is used in freshwater flowing creeks to catch smaller fish and freshwater prawns. Traditionally, only men were involved in the construction of the large fish traps, but children would often crawl inside and assist.

To make fish traps and fish net fences artists firstly get vine (milil) from the jungle and they put it in water for one night to make it soft. Next they start weaving it; they make rings for the inside to keep the fish trap’s shape. Artists work for three or four weeks on the fish trap. They also make string from kurrajong (burdaga) to attach the hibiscus (bardainy) rings and to tie the conical end of the fish trap. This fish trap is used in saltwater and freshwater. People also use fish net fences called mun-dirra. A long time ago they would put the mun-dirra across rivers and creeks. In the middle they would place the an-gujechiya. They also used small things like sticks, rocks, mud and grass to block the fish from going through. People would then catch fish like saltwater barramundi rajarra, freshwater barramundi (janambal), small black freshwater catfish (buliya), bonefish (an-guwirrpiya), and sand bass (dalakan) in these fish traps.

Namorrorddo, Yawkyawk and Manbamo

Mythical creatures of a malevolent nature, namorrorddo are shooting star spirits. They have long claws and trails of white light coming from their heads. They also carry a long club called miyarrurl which they use to beat victims.Yiman kabenerohrok nakidjkidj ya nakka wanjh kabenerohrok namorrorddo. Namorrorddo kabirlikan, bidngalnjkuyeng yoh.

Namorrorddo is similar to the spirit called ‘Nakidjkidj’, the same as Nakidjkidj. Namorrorddo however carries light (ie. the shooting star) and has really long claws, yes.

Source: https://www.njamed.com/

Merlemerle

Butterfly

Yíbarda

yíbarda – meaning a kind of fish in Ndjébbana

Merlemerle

Butterfly

Rrugurrgurda (Mud Crab)

Morning Star

The ceremony known throughout Arnhem Land generically as Marradjiri is a ceremony of diplomacy given by one group to another to establish good relations and to strengthen kinship (for example by marriage) and economic ties (for example the sharing of clan estate resources).

The central object in the Marradjiri ceremony is a decorated polepainted with clan designs. The work on the pole is undertaken as part of the ceremony and is accompanied by the associated song series.

Often the ceremony commences when one group invites another and the people invited perform the Marradjiri. When a child finds their first bush food or object of value it is taken as a sign that the Marradjiri ceremony should be performed and an invitation is sent out sometimes in the form of a lock of hair from this child or in the form of some other token, sometimes encased in beeswax and wrapped in cloth. The token is delivered to the invited performers who then prepare to give the ceremony to their hosts at the residence of the host group.

Each evening before sunset the performance begins and continues for two or three hours. In the early stages of the ceremony the dancers perform with body clan designs which become progressively more elaborate as the time approaches the end of the ceremony. Usually this may take two or three weeks.

In the Marradjiri, the pole is said to represent a mast of a Makassan prau. There exists many loan words (over three hundred in total) in North Australian Aboriginal languages and one of these is the Makassan word for mast of a ship ‘palayarrang’ which has changed in some Maningrida languages to ‘bulayarrang’ and a few other variations.

It is possible that the name of this ceremony has its origins in the Makassan word for mast. The Marradjiri ceremony is influenced heavily by Makassan themes.

On the final night of the ceremony the pole appears out of the darkness on the edge of the camp decorated with feathered tassles and long ropes which represent the rigging of the prau. Dancers hold these ropes and move the pole back and forth in the fashion of a prau rolling in rough sea as depicted. The dancers bring the pole down and dance with it until it is finally presented to the host group with great ritual and the pole is set into the ground to the accompaniment of the head song man chanting through a long list of clan names associated with the travels of creation ancestors.

When the dancers part with the pole they break into mourning as they may have done at the end of each Makassan trepanging season when their Makassan visitors returned to Sulawesi on the new early dry season winds. The pole is then kept by the host group, often being hung from the roof of a dwelling. Text taken from Maningrida Arts and Culture

Mábbarla

Mábbarla means Jelly Fish in Ndjébbana.

Merlemerle

Butterfly