Balarak Country- My Mother Country
In this work Mark explores Balarak Country- His mothers country which features Red Butte, Horse Creek, Old Texas Station, Fish Hole, and Kulfole Springs Creek
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Jarlaloo country
Jarlaloo is Patrick’s country. It lies south of Warmun and north of Purnululu (Bungle Bungles). Patrick knows this country inside out, as he walked and mustered cattle all throughout this country with his father, George Mung Mung. Jarlaloo is the Gija name for the Ord River, where it runs into Stony Creek. There are a lot of doworrolji in this country – doworrolji are rocks heaped up into ridges.
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Garn’giny Ngarranggarni – Mabel Juli
Well this the dreamtime story about Wardal and Garn’giny (star and moon). That’s what my mother and dad told me about that Dreamtime thing.
“Garn’giny ngelmang roord-ngarri nginji.
The moon sits in the east.
Wardal dal gerloorr ngarrgalen.
The star sits on top of the hills.
Laarne berdij nginiyi danyi garn’giny.
The moon went and climbed that hill.
Wijige-ngarri ngoorramangbe-ngiyiwa thamboorroo-gal.
They made him run away because he loved his mother-in-law.
(That moon loved his mother in-law, but they told him he couldn’t love her and to go away.)
Ganybelgbe nginini.
He felt shame (and climbed up the hill).
Gerlewirring deg nginini.
He was looking from on top [of the hill].
Nginini-birri “Nanggayib barrroonnha.”
He told all the people “You will all die.”
Nginini-birri “Ngayimoowana mooliyinde ngenben’ge.
He told them “I will be the only one living”.
(He cursed those people.)
“Boora-boorab ngeliyande” wanemayi-birri melagawoom dam, woorrji-ngarri berrani yilag.
“I will keep coming back” he told them all, while they were sitting down below.
(You are all going to die and I will be still alive, coming out.)
“Daam merrgernbem boorarrgarr ngeliyande.”
“After three days camp I will rise from the dead.”
Nanggayibwa berrayin-gili namoowana ngininji.
They all died and he was the only one that stayed alive.
Merrgern daam nginji boorab ngidji, daam merrgernbem.”
He camps (sleeps ~ dies) for three days then appears (again as the moon), after three days.
This is Yarin country in Darrajayin (Springvale Station) which lies south of Warmun. This is Juli’s traditional country.
The star in the paintings is the promised wife of the moon, the straight skin to be his wife. He wanted dawool, the woman who became the black headed python who was the mother of wardal, the star, i.e. his mother-in-law.
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Warlawoon Country
This painting is about the Warlawoon Country my dad Rammie Ramsay country my beautiful old artist dad who left his memory with me to carry on after him.
Trees
Camping areas
water holes
hills
and traditional stories of his mum and dad and their parents and so on he told me.
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WINUBA – EVELYN MALGIL
‘This is my family place. Hot water spring and cold water spring. That big hill on the background is my family place. That water live all year ’round. That little sand frog, it live for a long time.’ This place is the Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) site for the sand frog. The waterhole at Winuba holds water all through the Dry season.
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WINUBA – EVELYN MALGIL
‘This is my family place. Hot water spring and cold water spring. That big hill on the background is my family place. That water live all year ’round. That little sand frog, it live for a long time.’ This place is the Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) site for the sand frog. The waterhole at Winuba holds water all through the Dry season.
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Kilkayi Barramundi Dreaming
Three women trying to trap Dayiwul the great barramundi with spinifex nets. This is a traditional method of fishing where by nyiyirriny (river spinifex) is rolled and placed in the water forming a kind of net. Dayiwul was too clever for the women and jumped over the barrier they had laid. She pushed her body through the rock of what is now called Pitt Range. The women gave up and walked to a place called Gawinyji (Cattle Creek) where they turned into rocks.
The scales of Dayiwul embedded in the rock, became the diamonds that are extracted from the Argyle Diamond Mine.
