The doggy walk
The rest
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Yawkyawk and kunred
‘This is wet season yawkyawk with white bush apple, the one that grows beside the river.
This yawkyawk sometimes eats fish and seed, manmim. They have a lot of food under the water. Sometimes she falls in love with a man who is hunting or fishing. Or he falls in love with her. He doesn’t know about yawkyawk. When he becomes lost, yawkyawk comes out from the water and mesmerises a man by singing. The man falls asleep and dreams about yawkyawk. He stands there and listens to the singing and chases that country. That man is going to be lost from his family. He can be lost for one day while he is in love. Some old people say benbengmayahkeng. The yawkyawk confuses the man so he can’t go back to his country.’
Janet Marawarr
‘bengmayahke’ confuse. Kuninjku
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Mimih and Kangaroo
Jay Jurrupula depicts a kangaroo and Mimih spirit with her hand carved, lino print design.
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Jabiru
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Ngalkunburriyaymi (Mermaid) – Jay Rostron
Ngalkunburriyaymi
Kuninjku people call mermaids yawkyawk, but in my language, Kune, we call them Ngalkunburriyaymi (pronounced Ngaal gun borro yay mee).
The Ngalkunburriyaymi depicted in my artworks is from a place called Marra-yii (sp?). There are too many Ngalkunburriyaymi living at this place. They are always there and have been there forever. We can go camping and fishing at this place. Marar-yii is a place in the river. They are freshwater. They are Duwa moiety. Same as the freshwater crocodile.
My mum told me her story. Ngalkunburriyaymi gave her a baby. Ngalkunburriyaymi came to her in a dream. They gave her my brother. In my mother’s dream, she went fishing Marra-yii and Ngalkunburriyaymi came to her to tell her she was having a baby. She said to her I will give you a baby. In a couple of months, you will be pregnant.
Ngalkunburriyaymi eats fish and waterlilies.
Owen Yalandja is my cousin from my father’s side and Lulu is my grandmother also from my father’s side. They are from different outstations, but we are family. My Ngalkunburriyaymi story is connected to them but different.
I love my mother’s story and it is why I made a lino plate. I print it on different colour fabrics – silk, linen and cotton. I like using lots of different colours. I come from a family who have made artwork on bark and hollow logs using ochre—black, yellow, red and white. But at Babbarra Designs, we can use bright colours in our fabric designs.
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Lorrkon
‘This is my new lino design, a long time ago when people passed away they used to put bones inside the lorrkon (hollow funeral log). This is an old history story. There is string and feathers on the side, that’s kunyarl. They put parrot feathers on the djerrh (dilly bag).
When I design lino, I think back to stories from when I was a little girl when I was staying at Barrihdjowkkeng next to Mumeka, with my mother and my father when he was still alive. I remember my dad used to make mimih, carrying all the wood. I used to help him when I was a little girl.’
Raylene Bonson
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River and Rocks
A beautiful piece of bush dyed silk. This bright yellow colour has been harvested from the root of the man-kurdudjumuk shrub and dyed on country by Deborah Wurrkidj.
“This river we call Mangabo. It is near Gudjarrngarrl homeland of my daughters, Deborah and Jennifer Wurrkidj. We cross that river when travelling to Munmoy outstation. In the wet season, that water comes up and covers over those rocks, and when you look down there are rocks all under the water.”
– Helen Lanyinwanga
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Yawkyawk and bush flower
Yawkyawk is a word from the Aboriginal Kunwinjku language, meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’.
Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, yawkyawks are usually depicted with the tails of fish. They have long hair, associated with trailing blooms of algae, typically found in Arnhem Land streams and rock pools.
This fabric has been printed by Jennifer at our studio in Maningrida. It features yawkyawk and bush flower design line tiles in soft colours on an beige linen cotton blend fabric.
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Hand Made Bag with Screen Print Off Cuts
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Hand Made Bag with Lino Fabric Off Cuts
Hand made at Babbarra Designs, Maningrida.