May 2024

---

Status: Stock

---

Tote Bag – (Ngunyin) Dillybag

Our ancestors used Kakan (Black Palm) dilly bags to carry food when out hunting and gathering or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. They were also used to hold personal items.

When I was a young girl my grandmother would teach me how to make Black Palm dillybags. We used to set up camp with other Kuku Yalanji women at a creek near Helenvale. It is very hard work. The men would help us cutting down the palm trees and separate the crownshaft from the trunk and the leaves. Then the women used to peel away the outer leaves until they felt strong threads they could pull out. They cleaned these threads from pulp with a mussel shell. When we moved away from Helenvale I forgot how to make them. Luckily years later I asked a relative of mine, Wilma Walker, who is great weaver, if she could refresh my memories. From then on I kept making dillybags as long as my health allowed it. I really enjoyed making them.

 

Fabrication: 12oz Cotton Canvas

---

Status: Stock

---

Tote Bag – Family

Family is very important to me. Whenever I draw my family design in clay, on fabric or on paper, it makes me think about the many good experiences I had when growing up. I enjoyed being out on country, going hunting and fishing, collecting plant foods and camping. I also have fond memories of listening to traditional music and learning our cultural dances. My family design keeps all these personal memories alive like a flame, and like my ancestors before me, I try to create similar happy times with my children and grandchildren.

 

Fabrication: 12oz Cotton Canvas

---

Status: Stock

---

Tote Bag – (Kakan) Black Palm Basket Weaving

This design shows how the bottom part of a black palm basket is woven. My grandmothers and aunties used to make them. They cut off the young palm leaves in the centre, stripped and scrapped them. Then they would put the strips in freshwater to make them soft and keep them straight for weaving.

 

Fabrication: 12ox Cotton Canvas

---

Status: Stock

---

Tote Bag – (Birmba) White Cockatoo

Birmba (White Cockatoo) is my family totem. It has been passed down from generation to generation. 

White Cockatoos always remind me of my grandfather, my sisters and other family who have passed on. They are like protective spirits for me, my family, and my loved ones that have passed. They will give you signs: good signs and signs of danger. They let you know when to move on.

 

When I’m out with my grandchildren, I say “Look, do you see that white cockatoo there? That’s your grandmother there, overlooking us”. I let them know that it is family watching over them, keeping them connected to each other and our country. When I’m alone, I know they’re around. I speak to their spirit and they give me strength.

 

 Fabrication: 12oz Cotton Canvas

---

Status: Stock

---

Sarong – Ngunyin (Dillybag)

Our ancestors used Kakan (Black Palm) dillybags to carry food when out hunting and gathering, or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. They were also used to hold personal items.

When I was a young girl my grandmother would teach me how to make Black Palm dillybags. We used to set up camp with other Kuku Yalanji women at a creek near Helenvale. It is very hard work. The men would help us cutting down the palm trees and separate the crownshaft from the trunk and the leaves. Then the women used to peel away the outer leaves until they felt strong threads they could pull out. They cleaned these threads from pulp with a mussel shell. When we moved away from Helenvale I forgot how to make them. Luckily years later I asked a relative of mine, Wilma Walker, who is great weaver, if she could refresh my memories. From then on I kept making dillybags as long as my health allowed it. I really enjoyed making them.

Designed on Yalanji Country, custom printed and made in Sydney, Australia

97% Cotton 3% Linen

180 cm x 110 cm

Care instructions: Gentle wash only in cool water. Do not soak, bleach, rub, wring or tumble dry. Line dry in shade. Warm iron on reverse. Do not dry clean.

---

Status: Stock

---

Sarong – Makarr (Fish Trap)

Fish traps are called Makarr in our language. They were made by men only. Our fathers and uncles used to make them with the lawyer vine. They stripped the stems and then soaked them in the river to keep them soft and bendy. They also had a special way of weaving the fish traps. They used them in the river to catch eels, jungle perch, fresh water catfish, and turtle. To attract fish our old people used to sprinkle rainforest berries as bait over the trap.

Designed on Yalanji Country, custom printed and made in Sydney, Australia

97% Cotton 3% Linen

180 cm x 110 cm

Care instructions: Gentle wash only in cool water. Do not soak, bleach, rub, wring or tumble dry. Line dry in shade. Warm iron on reverse. Do not dry clean.

---

Status: Stock

---

Lorna Shuan, Kurriyala (Carpet Snake)

The carpet snake is an important animal for us. We call it Kurriyala in our Kuku Yalanji language. Our ancestors wrapped the meat in native ginger leaves and cooked it on the hot coals of the ground oven. They also used the skin to make head bands or skillfully sown blankets that keep the families warm and dry at night.

Screen printed by hand in Sydney, by master printers on 100% cotton linen. Sold by the metre in 132 cm width.

 

Care Instructions: Gentle machine or hand wash only in cool water, using mild detergent.

Do Not Soak, Bleach, Rub, Wring, Tumble. Line Dry Only in Shade. 

Warm Iron on Reverse. Do Not Dry Clean.