Manbirrbbirr dja Kunwardde
In Kuninjku the name manbirrbbirr is used for a number of densely flowering shrubs and small trees including Verticordia cunninghamii, yellow flowering Austromyrtus species and also Acacia platycarpa which also has dense white.
Kunwardde means stone, rock or money in Kuninjku.
This design combines imagery of the country around Mumeka with common dry season bush flowers.
Name: Abigail Namundja
Language: Kuninjku
Community: Maningrida
Biography:
Abigail has been working as an artist at Bábbarra Women's Centre since 2012. She joined the team as an arts worker in 2022. Abigail comes from a strong line of talented artists, her late mother is the renowned Jennifer Wurrkidj and her grandmother was Helen Lanyinwanga. Three generations of women from Abigail’s family have worked together at Bábbarra Women’s Centre, sharing ancestral knowledge and creating beautiful textile designs.
Abigail's totems are Gungura (Spiral wind) and Kunwardde (Stone country rocks). She loves to print Manbirrbirr (small bush flowers), Buluwana (Kuninjku Spirit Woman, yawkyawk (Young woman mermaid spirit) and marebu (pandanus mat).
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