I still hunt my Grand Mothers country for goanna, bush medicine and yams.
I hunt all year round, hunting and walking through the country makes me happy. When I look at the distant hills I can feel my grandmother. Bush flowers are everywhere.
Painting my grandmother’s country reminds about those times.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories, the artists paint their country where those stories sit.
This painting shows the layered landscape of Alyawarr, Central Australia. Knowing your country is an important part of living in a remote community like Ampilatwatja. Knowing when and where to go hunting and gathering, knowing where there is ‘soakage’ (where you can dig for water), travelling with family for ceremonies, and maintaining a connection with the land.
“This is my country, my view of country.”
All Aboriginal people originate from a spiritual source, fixed in a particular place in their land or the sea. These ‘spiritual reservoirs’ are often in the form of special waterholes made by Wangarr (creative spirits) that were created long ago close to the beginning of time. These creator beings moved across the countryside, shaping the land and implanting in each tract of country, the spiritual life force for the people who were to own it. These creative spirits took many forms and when they gave the land to each group, they also gave songs, dances, ceremony, the associated laws and language.
The creation story for Ganalbingu people took place near the middle section of the Glyde River where it becomes the Goyder River. Their land, Ngaliyindi, sits astride the Arafura Swamp in Central Arnhem Land. Many Ganalbingu artists paint totemic species significant to their clan. These can include baru (crocodile), banda (long necked turtle), buliya (catfish), yalman (waterlilies), gumang (magpie geese), dakawa (fresh water yabby), ratjuk (barramundi), warrnyu (flying fox) and more.
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
“I have just started painting, my grandmother Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney has been teaching me, she tells me all about the bush Flowers
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
“My twin sister Lotoya and I have just started painting, our grandmother Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney has been teaching us, she tells us all about the bush Flowers and bush medicine.
Monica was inspired to paint this painting in the original style of her grandfather, Rammey Ramsay.
The colours are different but the story remains the same.
Rammey’s intimate knowledge of waterholes, dreaming, camping and ceremonial sites across Warlawoon Country inform the composition of his paintings. Although minimalist is appearance his works are laden with narrative. His work is forever infused with the memory of Warlawoon Country together with a longing for Country his work teases out the complexities of Gija world-views and the impact of pastoral occupation on his land.
This painting was inspired by a painting by my grandfather Churchill Cann. The river divides the Top Camp, Middle Camp, Bottom Camp and Other Side. The different areas we live in Warmun.
This painting is inspired by by Grandfather Churchill Cann. He often painted Texas.
This is what he said about one of his paintings – “I remember the Texas Springs well – as a kid on Texas, we used to take the nanny goats out for a drink as the water is there all year round. The top left is Bulungu Springs and then Moonlight Spring to the right. The white is the airstrip near the new Homestead – all overgrown now. Then the bottom left of painting is Sandy Rock Hole (good for swimming). There is also Rock Hole, Station Creek and Lolly Creek.”
The Wanjina is a creator of country. The snake represents people causing trouble, for example man killing man, so snake comes to deal with them.
The Wanjina is a spirit man there were three kind of them that came from three different tribes from top part of the area was Woonambul mob from Gibb River going back to Kulumbaroo. The middle tribe was Ngarinjin mob also from Gibb River way all the way back to Mounthouse. Then there was Woolungoo mob started also from Mounthouse back to derby which was the bottom tribe.
The old people back then believed the Wanjina were the creators of land, water, grass, rocks and all living animalas country. The snake represents a punisher, meaning if man makes trouble to another man or family the snake goes out to kill the man whos causing trouble. The Wanjina can change also into flesh to fight with other Wanjinas because they were territorial like Ngarinjin mob for Wanjina be bin fighting got another Wanjina in Ngarinjin Country and till to this day you can seee the big flat oval shaped ground filled with just dirt and nothing grows on the oval shape, its just dirt. My grandmother from my father side is a Ngarinjin women. She believied old Wanjina The Spirit Man was the creator of the Ngarinjin country til to this day you can see rock painting of wanjina-spiritman everywhere throughout Ngarinjin country and the other two tribes.
Baru (the crocodile man), was from the Gumatj clan. People usually call him Gurdu Gurdu or Baru which means crocodile. He lived his life at a place called Yirrkala. Living near him were other people, and when Baru didn’t have enough to eat he began to kill and eat these other people. After a while others noticed that some people were missing. When Baru went to the toilet, the people could smell this strong smell, so they knew that he ate the other people. Some men went to get help and they took message sticks to the other tribes. Some were sending smoke signals. When they came to Baru’s camp they started to spear him in the left side of his ribs. He dropped into the fire and burnt his left hand and maybe his right hand. He then ran into the bush and yelled to his countrymen – the animals, birds and fish that live on the land and in the sea. He stopped and he named the tribes and clans and also the places until he came to a place called Gamarru/Guyurru. There he took a rest and said to himself “This is where I stop and call this place Gamarru/Guyurru”. Baru, still in pain from the fire, then jumped into the water and turned himself into a crocodile. The fire left scars on his back. Baru paintings belong to Gumatj and Warrawarra and also the Marpi clan. This painting is used at death ceremonies or initiations and it normally is painted on the belly, which means the person the design is painted on is part of Gurdu Gurdu (the crocodile people).