Janbal (Quandong)
Janbal (Quandong) is good bush tucker. We gather the fruit from August to January when they are sweet and soft. The kernel of the fruit is very pretty and we often use it to make body adornments such as necklaces and earrings.
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Janbal (Quandong)
Janbal (Quandong) is good bush tucker. We gather the fruit from August to January when they are sweet and soft. The kernel of the fruit is very pretty and we often use it to make body adornments such as necklaces and earrings.
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Janbal (Quandong)
Janbal (Quandong) is good bush tucker. We gather the fruit from August to January when they are sweet and soft. The kernel of the fruit is very pretty and we often use it to make body adornments such as necklaces and earrings.
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Kudi (Barramundi)
Kudi (Barramundi) is of great cultural importance for our Kuku Yalanji families. It is a major food source for us. We hunt them when they are fat. Kudi (Barramundi) is also one of a group of totem names that our elders give to a newborn child of the younger generation. A child who receives, for example, Kudi (Barramundi), as a totem name will be protected by the barramundi’s spirit their entire life.
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Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
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Kudi (Barramundi)
Kudi (Barramundi) is of great cultural importance for our Kuku Yalanji families. It is a major food source for us. We hunt them when they are fat. Kudi (Barramundi) is also one of a group of totem names that our elders give to a newborn child of the younger generation. A child who receives, for example, Kudi (Barramundi), as a totem name will be protected by the barramundi’s spirit their entire life.
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Kakan (Black Palm) Dillybag
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Kakan (Black Palm) Dillybag
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Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
The black cockatoo is my totem. It has been passed down to me from my grandmother and her sisters, to my mum and her sisters and then it came to me and my sisters.
I use the black cockatoo often in my art not only because it is my Totem but also to thank my grandmother’s sisters (Kae Creek, Leyla Creek and Margaret Rocky). They are artists and I used to watch them when I was a young girl. This inspired me to become an artist myself.
So, the Black Cockatoo shows on a personal level how I honour to these women artists, who came before me and changed my life.
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Wambiji (Platypus)
Platypus are very shy. They like to hide under rocks and can rarely be seen when people are around. When I was 17 years old, I used to go for a swim with my partner, Laurence, in the Mossman River, at a site called Jabuljabul (Girls/Women). Some mornings, a platypus was coming out of his hiding place, searching for food. He swam around. When he heard us, he swam back to his hiding place until we were gone.