Turtle Dreaming
Kenny likes to depict the sea turtles that inhabit the waters of his country. His style is impeccably neat and precise.
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Lorrkon (Hollow Log)
The Lorrkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log which was decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it remained until it slowly decayed over many years.
The log is made from a termite hollowed Stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems. The western Arnhem Land version of the Lorrkon ceremony involves the singing of sacred songs to the accompaniment of karlikarli, a pair of sacred boomerangs used as rhythm instruments. During the final evening of the ceremony, dancers decorate themselves with kapok down, or today, cotton wool and conduct much of the final segments of the ceremony in the secrecy of a restricted mens’ camp. The complete ceremony may stretch over a period of two weeks, but on the last night the bones of the deceased, which have been kept in a bark container or today wrapped in cloth and kept in a suitcase are taken out, are painted with red ochre and placed inside the hollow log. This ceremony may take place many years after the person has died.
At first light on the final morning of the Lorrkon ceremony, the men appear, coming out of their secret bush camp carrying the pole towards the women’s camp. The two groups call to each other using distinct ceremonial calls. The women have prepared a hole for the pole to be placed into and when it is stood upright, women in particular kinship relationships to the deceased dance around the pole in a jumping/shuffling motion. The Lorrkon is then often covered with a tarpaulin and left to slowly decay.
111982273195
Lorrkon (Hollow Log)
The Lorrkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log which was decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it remained until it slowly decayed over many years.
The log is made from a termite hollowed Stringybark tree (Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems. The western Arnhem Land version of the Lorrkon ceremony involves the singing of sacred songs to the accompaniment of karlikarli, a pair of sacred boomerangs used as rhythm instruments. During the final evening of the ceremony, dancers decorate themselves with kapok down, or today, cotton wool and conduct much of the final segments of the ceremony in the secrecy of a restricted mens’ camp. The complete ceremony may stretch over a period of two weeks, but on the last night the bones of the deceased, which have been kept in a bark container or today wrapped in cloth and kept in a suitcase are taken out, are painted with red ochre and placed inside the hollow log. This ceremony may take place many years after the person has died.
At first light on the final morning of the Lorrkon ceremony, the men appear, coming out of their secret bush camp carrying the pole towards the women’s camp. The two groups call to each other using distinct ceremonial calls. The women have prepared a hole for the pole to be placed into and when it is stood upright, women in particular kinship relationships to the deceased dance around the pole in a jumping/shuffling motion. The Lorrkon is then often covered with a tarpaulin and left to slowly decay.
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Mabbúlarr – Murnun
Featuring murnun (dugong) and yokkara (fish)
This new 2022 design by Josephine is part two of her Mabbúlarr collection.
Mabbúlarr is the Ndjébbana word describing calm and stillness – both regarding people and the ocean.
Printed by hand at Injalak Art Centre 2022 using cotton poplin (sarong weight).
This design tells the story of underwater life in the shallows. The turtle we call marláddja (green turtle, Chelonia mydas) and the stingray we call marnandjúbba (Cowtail Stingray, Pastinachus sephen).
‘When strong wind blows the sea is rough, when there’s no wind the sea is calm. We call that mábbularr. You can see through the water and look at the turtle and stingray eating karlómerr (sea grass) and dancing underwater to find their mate. When we go on the boat hunting, we go at times of mábbularr.
In the old days men used to hunt with a canoe and with traditional made harpoon. Guided by our ancestors’ spirits they would paddle all day to find sea turtle and dugongs in the right places. The men had to be smart for the tide and know the weather to balance their canoes. They would go at times of mábbularr (calm), early morning in daytime or at night-time when there is no moon and the water glows. We call the night-time glimmer of phosphorescence mílarrng-milarrng. Today people still go hunting, it brings a lot of families together and they share eating down the beach.
We have songline for sea turtle, also men paint turtle on their back and dance turtle in the Míddjarn the same way turtle dance underwater. It is very important we look after our country and songline passed on from many generations’. Josephine James 2021
377810582273189
Mabbúlarr – Murnun
Featuring murnun (dugong) and yokkara (fish)
This new 2022 design by Josephine is part two of her Mabbúlarr collection.
Mabbúlarr is the Ndjébbana word describing calm and stillness – both regarding people and the ocean.
Printed by hand at Injalak Art Centre 2022 using cotton poplin (sarong weight).
This design tells the story of underwater life in the shallows. The turtle we call marláddja (green turtle, Chelonia mydas) and the stingray we call marnandjúbba (Cowtail Stingray, Pastinachus sephen).
‘When strong wind blows the sea is rough, when there’s no wind the sea is calm. We call that mábbularr. You can see through the water and look at the turtle and stingray eating karlómerr (sea grass) and dancing underwater to find their mate. When we go on the boat hunting, we go at times of mábbularr.
In the old days men used to hunt with a canoe and with traditional made harpoon. Guided by our ancestors’ spirits they would paddle all day to find sea turtle and dugongs in the right places. The men had to be smart for the tide and know the weather to balance their canoes. They would go at times of mábbularr (calm), early morning in daytime or at night-time when there is no moon and the water glows. We call the night-time glimmer of phosphorescence mílarrng-milarrng. Today people still go hunting, it brings a lot of families together and they share eating down the beach.
We have songline for sea turtle, also men paint turtle on their back and dance turtle in the Míddjarn the same way turtle dance underwater. It is very important we look after our country and songline passed on from many generations’. Josephine James 2021
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Gunga (Pandanus)
Gunga refers to the weaving and production of goods from pandanus leaves and natural fibres. This design depicts fibre art from her homeland Galiwinku, Elcho Island.
The fish trap, basket, string bag and pandanus mats are objects as well as ancestral spirits and are significant to the artists as together they relate to her djang (Aboriginal religious belief).
Fish traps are woven by hand using the milirl (Burney vine, Trophis scandens) from the jungle, which is soaked overnight to make it soft. Fish traps are used by both saltwater and freshwater hunters. Baskets and pandanus mats are made from pandanus leaves, which are collected using long hooks, stripped, dried, boiled in natural dye, then woven.
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Gunga (Pandanus)
Gunga refers to the weaving and production of goods from pandanus leaves and natural fibres. This design depicts fibre art from her homeland Galiwinku, Elcho Island.
The fish trap, basket, string bag and pandanus mats are objects as well as ancestral spirits and are significant to the artists as together they relate to her djang (Aboriginal religious belief).
Fish traps are woven by hand using the milirl (Burney vine, Trophis scandens) from the jungle, which is soaked overnight to make it soft. Fish traps are used by both saltwater and freshwater hunters. Baskets and pandanus mats are made from pandanus leaves, which are collected using long hooks, stripped, dried, boiled in natural dye, then woven.
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Makéddja (Turtle)
Makéddja is the generic word for turtle in the Ndjébbana language of the Kunibidji people of Maningrida.
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Makéddja (Turtle)
Makéddja is the generic word for turtle in the Ndjébbana language of the Kunibidji people of Maningrida.
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Burlupurr – large dillybag
Burlupurr, or dilly bag, is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the vine ‘Malasia scandens’, a strong pliable plant which grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect any kind of large numbers of heavy foods such as fish caught in conical fish traps or large collections of yams.
They can also be made from Pandanus spiralis, a plant which grows in many areas of Arnhem Land. These dilly bags are a tightly woven collecting basket, very finely made. These dilly bags are often used to collect sugarbag, the native honey
As well as being of practical use, dilly bags are also of religious significance to Arnhem Land people. Dilly bags are said to be totemic objects and associated with particular sites in the landscape.