22514009053
Status: Stock
Christmas Socks – Maja Dikal (Rainforest Birds) by Laurence Gibson.
This design shows Jarruka (Scubfowl), Diwan (Scrub Turkey) and Kurranji (Cassowary)
In Kuku Yalanji language we call scrub turkey ‘Diwan’. When I was a young man I used to take my sons out hunting Diwan in the rainforest. We used to hunt them with a spear and cook them traditionally over an open fire. Diwan tastes very similar to chicken but has much more flavour.
The scrubfowl is a culturally significant Totem to our people. We still dance it in public ceremonies. The scrubfowl dance starts off with two male dancers as scrubfowl characters guarding the nest and eggs. Then the women dancers come in. They are on the lookout for scrubfowl nests and carry dillibags for the eggs. The women chase the scrubfowl guards away, fill up their dillibags with the precious eggs. At the end, the male scubfowl dancers join the women again and celebrate the harvest to say thanks for the eggs.
The cassowary is my totem. My mother’s sister handed it down to me when I was a young boy. I perform the cassowary dance in public ceremonies. As a young men, I was part of the Yalanji Dance group and was invited to Hong Kong to perform our traditional dance cycles including the cassowary dance.
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Material
70% Cotton
30% Nylon/elastane
Care instructions
Warm machine wash.
Do not bleach. Do not iron.
Do not tumble dry.
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