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Modjarrkki (Freshwater Crocodile Story)

Modjarrkki (Freshwater Crocodile) 

Kune language

‘This is a true story. My great great grandfather and my father told this story and I tell it to my children. It’s about a freshwater crocodile called Modjarrkki. One day an unmarried man who was camping with his brother and his brothers wife went walking by himself. He came to a creek where he found a crocodile. He went back to camp and said to his brother ‘hey I found a croc, lets go kill it!’. He tried to kill the crocodile but the crocodile bit his brother. He bit his guts, his hand, his legs and he died. Modjarrkki was an angry crocodile but today Modjarkki doesn’t bite people, he’s only a little crocodile and he eats barramundi. He is still alive and he lives in rock country, Karrabarda, which is in Gorlobidahdah.’ Jay Rostron Jurrupula

Categories: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation

Name: Jay Jurrupula Rostron

Language: Kune, Kuninjku, Rembarrnga

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Belinj Jay is a Kune, Dalabon and Rembarrngga woman from the Barappa clan. For Kune people, like many others across Arnhem Land, the world is divided into two moieties: Duwa and Yirridjdja. These moieties are woven into the kinship system guiding a person’s relationships and responsibilities to their family and the environment. Every tree, animal, bird, and body of water can be identified as either Duwa or Yirridjdja and this moiety system extends to stories, songlines and dreaming.

Belinj Jay works across multiple mediums including Lino print and etching drawing, screen printing and fibre art. Her work is illustrative and popular, portraying the ancestral stories of her freshwater homeland. Jay often depicts Modjarrkki (fresh water crocodile), birdlife from the wetlands including Kawk (Heron) and Ngalkordow (Brolga) as well as dancing and hunting mimihs. 

The Modjarrkki story belongs to the Barappa clan and is from the Duwa Country Dukala-djarranj and Kolorbidahdah located in the stone country of West Arnhem Land. The Songline and story has been passed down to Jay by her father (Dad’s brother) and is a true story, a story that really happened. This story is still practiced through bunggul during cultural celebrations and gatherings.

Jay's recent achievements include teaching a series of children's lino printing workshops at The National Museum of Australia during their 2023 NAIDOC Week events.

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