October 2025

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Karrbarda (Long Yam)

“This design is about collecting karrbarda (yams). The old people use these kungarrndutj (digging sticks) to dig the yams from under the ground. They carry the kunmatj (dilly bags) on their heads for collecting bush food. These yams are purple on the saltwater side of country and inland they are white.” – Deborah Wurrkidj

Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. In this design, she has depicted Kun-madj (dilly bag) and karrbarda (long yam). Women dig up long yams with kungarrndutj (digging sticks) and they are then cooked in the ashes of the fire to be eaten.

Kun-madj, or dilly bag, is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the vine ‘Malasia scandens’, a strong pliable plant that grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect 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 that grows in many areas of Arnhem Land.

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Karrbarda (Long Yam)

“This design is about collecting karrbarda (yams). The old people use these kungarrndutj (digging sticks) to dig the yams from under the ground. They carry the kunmatj (dilly bags) on their heads for collecting bush food. These yams are purple on the saltwater side of country and inland they are white.” – Deborah Wurrkidj

Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. In this design, she has depicted Kun-madj (dilly bag) and karrbarda (long yam). Women dig up long yams with kungarrndutj (digging sticks) and they are then cooked in the ashes of the fire to be eaten.

Kun-madj, or dilly bag, is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the vine ‘Malasia scandens’, a strong pliable plant that grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect 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 that grows in many areas of Arnhem Land.

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Karrbarda (Long Yam)

“This design is about collecting karrbarda (yams). The old people use these kungarrndutj (digging sticks) to dig the yams from under the ground. They carry the kunmatj (dilly bags) on their heads for collecting bush food. These yams are purple on the saltwater side of country and inland they are white.” – Deborah Wurrkidj

Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. In this design, she has depicted Kun-madj (dilly bag) and karrbarda (long yam). Women dig up long yams with kungarrndutj (digging sticks) and they are then cooked in the ashes of the fire to be eaten.

Kun-madj, or dilly bag, is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the vine ‘Malasia scandens’, a strong pliable plant that grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect 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 that grows in many areas of Arnhem Land.

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Kunmadj dja Kunkanin (Dillybag and Digging Stick)

In this design, Jennifer has depicted kun-madj (dillybag), which is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the burney vine (Malaisia scandens), a strong, pliable plant that grows along the ground and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect heavy foods, such as fish caught in conical fish traps or yams. They can also be made from kun-dayarr (Pandanus spiralis), a palm that grows in many areas of Arnhem Land. Tightly woven dillybags are used to collect sugarbag, the native honey.

As well as being of practical use, dillybags are of cultural significance to Arnhem Land people. They are totemic objects associated with particular sites in the landscape.

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Yawkyawk in Stone Country Dress by Secret Platypus – Collection 2 NFS

Yawkyawk is a word from the Aboriginal Kunwinjku/Kunwok language, meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’.

Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, yawkyawks are usually depicted with the tails of fish. They have long hair, associated with trailing blooms of algae, typically found in Arnhem Land streams and rock pools. There can be wet season yawkyawk and dry season yawkyawk. It is said that when men go out hunting, they sometimes hear the song of the yawkyawk and become confused, loosing their way back to country.

 

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Kunngol (cloud) pant by Publisher Textiles – Collection 2 NFS

This design depicts certain Kunngol (cloud) that signal to people of central Arnhem Land that the end of the wet season is approaching. After months of daily monsoonal rain in Arnhem Land, these clouds are light and fluffy, not like the dark, heavy clouds of the monsoonal sky. At the time of the kunngol clouds, people know the country will soon dry up and the cold season (dry season) will arrive. When the kunngol clouds appear, all of the billabongs are already filled, the rivers are high and the country is brimming with life and fresh new growth after months of fresh water pouring from the sky.