May 2025

221282366935

Tjala / Honey Ants

Tjala or honey ants live in nests about a metre underground beneath mulga trees, and they are a highly favoured food source. The tjala tunnels that lead down to the ants’ nests are called nyinantu, and the larvae are called ipilyka-ipilyka. After the rain when the ground is soft the women go digging for tjala by looking for the drill holes under the trees. They then use shovels and crowbars to dig down following the tunnels to find the tjala inside. Anangu suck the delicious rich honey-like liquid from the distended abdomen of the tjala. The story of the tjala is told across the Northern Territory into South Australia and is an important link between Anangu mythology and inter-dependence on the environment.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111982366934

Djamo (dog)

The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If neither caught anything, then they could catch fish. If there was neither kangaroo nor goanna, then they would eat sugarbag. This is how it was long ago – sugarbag, lily root, yam, goanna, sand goanna, fish and more were part of the regular diet. “Don’t forget that long ago we didn’t know European food, we knew bush food. We used to grow from bush food.” Rembarrnga women have literally and metaphorically brought together strands from their country and the mythology of their heritage to produce three dimensional fibre creatures filled with mystical significance. Dog, mermaid, rainbow serpent, blue tongue and fish multiplication spirits: each creature plays an important role in the clan’s cultural landscape. Materials for this camp dog comes from the clan estate. Dayarr (pandanus) and rulk (grass) are the twines used for the creature’s bodies. Warlppurrunggu (bush turkey) and nganarrngh (black cockatoo) feathers provide bulkkan-na (hair). Marnarr (red), gamununggu (white), garlba (yellow) ochres and roerroe (black) ashes are then carefully mixed and applied for colour. The use of local materials provides an integral link between the mythological nature of the creatures, which inhabit the country and their physical form.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111982366933

Djamo (dog)

The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If neither caught anything, then they could catch fish. If there was neither kangaroo nor goanna, then they would eat sugarbag. This is how it was long ago – sugarbag, lily root, yam, goanna, sand goanna, fish and more were part of the regular diet. “Don’t forget that long ago we didn’t know European food, we knew bush food. We used to grow from bush food.” Rembarrnga women have literally and metaphorically brought together strands from their country and the mythology of their heritage to produce three dimensional fibre creatures filled with mystical significance. Dog, mermaid, rainbow serpent, blue tongue and fish multiplication spirits: each creature plays an important role in the clan’s cultural landscape. Materials for this camp dog comes from the clan estate. Dayarr (pandanus) and rulk (grass) are the twines used for the creature’s bodies. Warlppurrunggu (bush turkey) and nganarrngh (black cockatoo) feathers provide bulkkan-na (hair). Marnarr (red), gamununggu (white), garlba (yellow) ochres and roerroe (black) ashes are then carefully mixed and applied for colour. The use of local materials provides an integral link between the mythological nature of the creatures, which inhabit the country and their physical form.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111982366932

Djamo (dog)

The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If neither caught anything, then they could catch fish. If there was neither kangaroo nor goanna, then they would eat sugarbag. This is how it was long ago – sugarbag, lily root, yam, goanna, sand goanna, fish and more were part of the regular diet. “Don’t forget that long ago we didn’t know European food, we knew bush food. We used to grow from bush food.” Rembarrnga women have literally and metaphorically brought together strands from their country and the mythology of their heritage to produce three dimensional fibre creatures filled with mystical significance. Dog, mermaid, rainbow serpent, blue tongue and fish multiplication spirits: each creature plays an important role in the clan’s cultural landscape. Materials for this camp dog comes from the clan estate. Dayarr (pandanus) and rulk (grass) are the twines used for the creature’s bodies. Warlppurrunggu (bush turkey) and nganarrngh (black cockatoo) feathers provide bulkkan-na (hair). Marnarr (red), gamununggu (white), garlba (yellow) ochres and roerroe (black) ashes are then carefully mixed and applied for colour. The use of local materials provides an integral link between the mythological nature of the creatures, which inhabit the country and their physical form.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111982366931

Djamo (dog)

The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If neither caught anything, then they could catch fish. If there was neither kangaroo nor goanna, then they would eat sugarbag. This is how it was long ago – sugarbag, lily root, yam, goanna, sand goanna, fish and more were part of the regular diet. “Don’t forget that long ago we didn’t know European food, we knew bush food. We used to grow from bush food.” Rembarrnga women have literally and metaphorically brought together strands from their country and the mythology of their heritage to produce three dimensional fibre creatures filled with mystical significance. Dog, mermaid, rainbow serpent, blue tongue and fish multiplication spirits: each creature plays an important role in the clan’s cultural landscape. Materials for this camp dog comes from the clan estate. Dayarr (pandanus) and rulk (grass) are the twines used for the creature’s bodies. Warlppurrunggu (bush turkey) and nganarrngh (black cockatoo) feathers provide bulkkan-na (hair). Marnarr (red), gamununggu (white), garlba (yellow) ochres and roerroe (black) ashes are then carefully mixed and applied for colour. The use of local materials provides an integral link between the mythological nature of the creatures, which inhabit the country and their physical form.

By CompNet Systems, ago

111982366930

Djamo (dog)

The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If neither caught anything, then they could catch fish. If there was neither kangaroo nor goanna, then they would eat sugarbag. This is how it was long ago – sugarbag, lily root, yam, goanna, sand goanna, fish and more were part of the regular diet. “Don’t forget that long ago we didn’t know European food, we knew bush food. We used to grow from bush food.” Rembarrnga women have literally and metaphorically brought together strands from their country and the mythology of their heritage to produce three dimensional fibre creatures filled with mystical significance. Dog, mermaid, rainbow serpent, blue tongue and fish multiplication spirits: each creature plays an important role in the clan’s cultural landscape. Materials for this camp dog comes from the clan estate. Dayarr (pandanus) and rulk (grass) are the twines used for the creature’s bodies. Warlppurrunggu (bush turkey) and nganarrngh (black cockatoo) feathers provide bulkkan-na (hair). Marnarr (red), gamununggu (white), garlba (yellow) ochres and roerroe (black) ashes are then carefully mixed and applied for colour. The use of local materials provides an integral link between the mythological nature of the creatures, which inhabit the country and their physical form.

By CompNet Systems, ago

115682367200

Dhawurr or Batjbarra (Fish Trap)

Dhawurr, or Batjbarra, is a traditional fishing method used by Indigenous people in the Arafura Swamp and surrounding wetlands of Arnhem Land. Yolŋu now prefer the modern fishing methods of reels and bait, however, weavers continue to make Batjbarra for cultural conservation and to be sold as decorative pieces.

When used for practical purposes, the Batjbarra was placed into the river with the opening facing oncoming fish. The woven tunnel trapped the fish with the weave tight enough to prevent escape but loose enough to allow water to freely flow through. The traps tapered so that when they were submerged, the water pressure wedged them into place.

The primary material used in this piece is the young, green leaves of the Pandanus spiralis tree, that were harvested using a long wooden hook. The leaves are stripped of their prickles, with the smaller fibres being dried to produce a strong, resilient material. These fibres are then twisted, coiled, or combined using various techniques to create the fish trap.

Bula’bula weavers exclusively use natural dyes, derived from locally sourced roots, leaves and grasses. These pigments are extracted and infused into pandanus fibres by boiling over an open fire, producing the rich, vibrant colours characteristic of contemporary Yolŋu weavings.

By CompNet Systems, ago