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.
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Kurriyala (Carpet Snake)
The carpet snake used to be an important food animal for our ancestors. They wrapped the meat in native ginger leaves and cooked it on the hot coals of the ground oven. They also used the skin to make head bands or skillfully sewed blankets to keep the families warm and dry at night.
The carpet snake also has spiritual significance for me. I inherited the carpet snake Totem and related cultural knowledge from my father’s side. According to our Kuku Yalanji creation stories, the carpet snake was an Ancestral Being that travelled in its human form across the country creating waterways wherever it went, including on my father’s clan lands.
In my upbringing I was taught to respect our elders who prepared me for my future role as carrier of cultural knowledge and spiritual traditions. I was also taught the values of taking responsibility for caring for our traditional clan country and help maintain it for the younger generations so they can become strong leaders.
Art is my way of keeping the cultural knowledge of my ancestors alive and passing it down to my children and grandchildren. Sharing this body of knowledge creates strong family ties and gives me my strength.