SHARK STORY;
This shark jumped from Mirrngatja to Malyangarnak and the Saratoga jumped from Mahjangarnak to Mirrngatja. When the shark came to Malyangarnak and the Saratoga went to Mirrngatja those two places swapped names, Malyangarnak was given the name Malyangarnak, we were told these stories by the two Traditional Owners of Malyangarnak who have now deceased but we still remember their stories.
String bags can vary greatly. Artists commonly use a mix of naturally dyed and undyed fibre to create a striking variation of coloured bands. Some artists also incorporate different types of looping to produce different patterns and textured finishes. Each type of fibre bag, mat, basket and dilly bag has its own name in the various languages spoken in the Maningrida region.
We hunt the Nawarlah (Brown River Stingray) during the wet season. There is a plant with a yellow flower that tells us that it is the right time. We know it will be fat.
It is well known that Aboriginal art often depicts images of sacred totems or dreamings of Aboriginal culture. However, the world of the non-sacred also provides a rich source of subject matter for Aboriginal art. Much of the rock art of western Arnhem Land for example features secular topics such as common food animals and plants, depicted because of their economic importance but also merely because of their existence in the environment.
Birmba, the white cockatoo is a cheeky bird. Stealing fruit all the time.
In our culture some birds are messengers. In our lore Birmba brings us news.
My mothers Bubu is the Shipton Flat/Helenvale area.
I love taking family to our bubu, fishing and hunting for food and having a fire with damper.
I am a Jalanji saltwater woman. Jalanji people have lots of stories about the reef. My painting’s story is about Mili (stinging jellyfish) stirring out on the reef.
We were taught at a young age to watch out because these mili sting and can be very dangerous. There are special plants that we can use on mili stings. Our elders passed on this knowledge to us.
My painting depicts Ngatili, the black cockatoo. This is my mother’s totem.
I was born in Katherine in the Northern Territory. I grew up in Darwin and spent time in Milingimbi. I decided to move to Wujal Wujal in 2022 to spend time with my father’s family.
This artwork depicts the Ngalkodjek Yawkyawk of Barrihdjowkkeng country.
“This story is very old. That old man [my father Crusoe Kuningbal] when he was alive, told that story to me, to all of us. He told us about the yawkyawk (mermaid) spirit women called Ngalkodjek who lives in the billabong on my country. He told us how they call out loudly, how they call out as they walk along.
That is what they do, calling out. They walked around eating bush foods like those little bush yams. They would pound the yams into a pulp and eat them. That is their traditional food which they eat.
When they walk down from the bush, they follow a set path that belongs to them and they walk along calling out. That is their path which they take. It is an old traditional route.
They placed a woman’s breast into the country. That rock was not there originally, but it was a woman’s breast. It is the breast of those women.
They put that djang [sacred place] there, and then at the time when non-Aboriginal people arrived in the region, then the breast turned to stone. Now it has turned solid into rock.”
– Owen Yalandja
Traditionally, Nganiyal (conical mats) were used as an insect screen when erected, and as a sitting mat when folded. They are used in Ceremony as well as a functional item.
Nowadays, artists weave many different shapes including flat, round and oblong.