Janbal (Quandong)
Janbal (Quandong) is good bush tucker. We gather the fruit from August to January when they are sweet and soft. The kernel of the fruit is very pretty and we often use it to make body adornments such as necklaces and earrings.
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Bayil (Jungle Perch)
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Jeffrey’s Birds
Jeffrey paints his favourite birds that live in the country around Ernabella. These include the kuparu (magpie), partilpa (Port Lincoln ringed neck parrot), kayarkiyarpa (galah), tjintir-tjintirpa (willy wag-tail), piil-piilpa (yellow throated minor) and kuurkuurpa (owls).
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Wakuka (Kookaburra)
Wakuka (Kookaburra) is an important totem or spiritual being for our Kuku Yalanji clans. We call him a messenger bird because he lets us know when a family member has passed away.
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Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
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Jeffrey’s Birds
Jeffrey paints his favourite birds that live in the country around Ernabella. These include the kuparu (magpie), partilpa (Port Lincoln ringed neck parrot), kayarkiyarpa (galah), tjintir-tjintirpa (willy wag-tail), piil-piilpa (yellow throated minor) and kuurkuurpa (owls).
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Yindili (Kingfisher)
The Kingfisher, known as Yindili in Kuku Yalanji language, is according to our culture one of the significant messenger birds. The Kingfisher will let us know when to expect a visit from families living in another community, And when we see a Kingfisher close by, we know that something good will soon happen in our personal life.
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Karrkurr (Green Tree Frog)
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Jeffrey’s Birds
Jeffrey paints his favourite birds that live in the country around Ernabella. These include the kuparu (magpie), partilpa (Port Lincoln ringed neck parrot), kayarkiyarpa (galah), tjintir-tjintirpa (willy wag-tail), piil-piilpa (yellow throated minor) and kuurkuurpa (owls).
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Kurriyala (Carpet Snake)
The carpet snake used to be an important food animal for our ancestors. They 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 sewed blankets to keep the families warm and dry at night.
The carpet snake also has spiritual significance for me. I inherited the carpet snake Totem and related cultural knowledge from my father’s side. According to our Kuku Yalanji creation stories, the carpet snake was an Ancestral Being that travelled in its human form across the country creating waterways wherever it went, including on my father’s clan lands.
In my upbringing I was taught to respect our elders who prepared me for my future role as carrier of cultural knowledge and spiritual traditions. I was also taught the values of taking responsibility for caring for our traditional clan country and help maintain it for the younger generations so they can become strong leaders.
Art is my way of keeping the cultural knowledge of my ancestors alive and passing it down to my children and grandchildren. Sharing this body of knowledge creates strong family ties and gives me my strength.