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WARRARNANY DU WANGGARNAL
These hills lie behind Warmun Community. In the Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) warranany – the eagle told his wife wangkarnal – the crow – to cook some kangaroo for him to eat. She was lazy and so she fell asleep instead. When she woke up the crow wanted to eat the meat that the eagle had cooked. The eagle burned up white rock (manjal – white quartz) until it became a red-hot spearhead and he stabbed the crow in the eye. That is why some crows have a white eye. The eagle and crow were brother and sister – Jangari and Nangari – and would have been promised in marriage, unusually as they are of the wrong skin groups for each other. In the early days when a girl was born she would be sat on the knee of her promised husband. When she was eight or nine years old, he would take her and ‘grow her up’, Eileen Bray says. Often a brother would be promised to the sister of their brother’s wife, and vice versa. White rock can be seen on the hills – it is the kangaroo’s fat and the eagle’s spearhead from the Ngarranggarni.
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Moa Island Style – Necklace (Bead Work)
Moa Arts (Ngalmun Lagau Minaral) is an Indigenous-owned and operated art centre on Mua Island in the Torres Strait western cluster of islands. One of the primary aims of the art centre is to keep Muglal traditions of Zenadth Kes arts and culture strong for everyone through the production and sale of art.
The reputation of Moa Arts is built on the calibre of its limited edition lino-prints, etchings, weavings and island-style jewellery. Creative inspiration for these works comes from Mualgal ancestral stories, totemic representation and connections to sea, land, sky and family. Mua’s artists don’t have to look far to be inspired. The island and its surrounding waters and reefs hold a diverse set of land and marine ecosystems with niches for many rare and unique species such as dugong and sea turtle.
Art Centre notes:
Made from glass beads and fishing line following traditional colour palettes.
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Doomerinj
Doomerinj Dreaming
That one emu, he bin poke his head down in the ground and called out. They reckon that other one (emu) which was situated in the West, further away from the East one been relay that message onto that one in the Southwest. That message, when it travels underground, it’s like a big bang. The Yellow in the middle represents the Bang where the echoes meet. That bang comes from that echo where the messages from East and West meet. That bang also causes the earth to move or shake, like an earthquake for about 2.5-3 seconds. And, they reckon sometimes it gave people back then a message – which could mean somebody passed away or big trouble coming ahead.
True Event from Doomeruny
When I was a kid growing up here in Warmun, old people used to tell us a story about that Doomeruny. And because we grew up in tents and humpies and no electricity and we used to get water down the creek, we could hear this big bang and the moving of the earth under our feet. It’s a pretty powerful true story. It’s still happening but you need to go somewhere more isolated to feel Doomeruny vibrations and hear it.
Gija Legend and Belief about Doomeruny
The old people lived without electricity, power, mobile phones or housing. They felt and believed the vibrations of Doomeruny. From that East to that West, it’s about 60-70 odd kilometres apart, and that one from the West to the Southwest, is approximately 180 kms. They know something pretty powerful was travelling underneath from one end to the other end (East to West, and West to Southwest).
Gija people believe mining will cause a big earthquake in that Gija country where that message or sound travels.
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Young boy seeking ground sugar bag
“This is a story about a young boy seeking ground sugar bag.
All my elders were out looking for ground sugar bag near the Mabel down hill, they been looking all day they were all weak and tired from digging in the ant hills looking for this ground sugar bag.
they told one young boy who was in the group with them to climb up and look around where the fat anthills (termite mounds) are that may have the ground sugar bag.
He climbed up Mabel down hill, he said nothing here in the middle where we been looking, only sunrise side and sun set side the young boy said.
On his way back down the hill he turned into a rock dreaming that’s him on the top of this hill in my painting.”
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Argyle Diamond Mine Rehab
This painting is about the closure of Argyle mine – the right hand side depicts the devastation caused by the site, and the left hand side depicts how we would would like it to be rehabilitated for our future generations.
The current rehabilitation project started in 2020 and we can see some positive changes, however we know that our land will never be the same again.
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Karrajanti Country (Walmujarli), Bush Onion-Grandfather Country
On Karrajati country, the first white settlers came pass, where my Grandfather and Family were.
Some of my Grandfathers Family members took off; got fright of the White man.
It been days and months my Father people search . As the frighten members ran a long way, never been seeing or hear.
My Grandfather and members done a search party- Days and Nights.
One day they came across a day Billabong, their seeing a lot of Bush Onion plants, seem very odd, then they came to the second Billabong, the second billabong had lots of Bush Onions plants too.
So my Grandfather and members searched the plants, what they saw was remains of Humans bones. That where they found their people.
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Kangaroo Rock Dreaming (Norton Bore)
This is the kangaroo rock at Norton Bore. Old people would rub this rock when they wanted to go hunting and kangaroos would come out at Violet Valley and Norton Bore. If you go there now, you’ll see all of the kangaroos still around these places, all kinds of kangaroos, red kangaroos, ones with white chests.
These are two shelters made out of trees and leaves, when the old people were hunting they would hide in these shelters with their spears and when the kangaroos came they would spear them for feed.
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Kangaroo Rock Dreaming (Norton Bore)
This is the kangaroo rock at Norton Bore. Old people would rub this rock when they wanted to go hunting and kangaroos would come out at Violet Valley and Norton Bore. If you go there now, you’ll see all of the kangaroos still around these places, all kinds of kangaroos, red kangaroos, ones with white chests.
These are two shelters made out of trees and leaves, when the old people were hunting they would hide in these shelters with their spears and when the kangaroos came they would spear them for feed.
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Ant Hills – Tatum Rivers
Tatum started painting ant hills as they are significant aspect of the Kimberly region but they also because they have deep meaning to her and her family. Depending on the colour of the Ant Hills, some have healing properteis both for physical and mental ailments, and within some her ancestors were placed when they passed away.
Her Jaru family believe “anthills are for healing, you get rubbed down with the anthill, after you wash it off you feel refreshed, it takes away bad vibe also cold sick too”