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Tile (VC) Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
Kadanji (Black Cockatoo) is my mother’s mother’s totem from the Kuku Nyungkul clan. It has been handed down from generation to generation.
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Murrugu (Family)
Family is very important to me. Whenever I draw my family design in clay, on fabric or on paper, it makes me think about the many good experiences I had when growing up. I enjoyed being out on country, going hunting and fishing, collecting plant foods and camping. I also have fond memories of listening to traditional music and learning our cultural dances. My family design keeps all these personal memories alive like a flame, and like my ancestors before me, I try to create similar happy times with my children and grandchildren.
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Diwan (Scrub Turkey)
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.
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Kurranji (Cassowary)
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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Kurranji (Cassowary)
The cassowary is one of the major totems (Ancestral Spirit Beings) for our Kuku Yalanji people. He is a big, dangerous bird that rules the rainforest. The cassowwary can attack people but at the same time he helps growing many of the plants we used to collect for food, medicine and tool making.
I inherited the Cassowary Totem and all the cultural stories relating to it from my mother’s side. When I was four years old, my mum taught me how to dance the story of the female cassowary, who is protecting the chicks and the eggs from the carpet snake and goanna.
As a young women, I took on the role of my mum and began teaching our cultural dances to the younger generation at the Mossman Gorge community as well as children that live in Mossman town. I still do this today.
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Kakan (Black Palm) Dillybag
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Pinch Pot Ngunyin (Dillybag) Design
Dillybags played a vital part in Kuku Yalanji culture. Women used them to carry food when out hunting and gathering or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. Dillybags were also used to hold personal and sacred items.
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Tile Willy wag tail
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Tile Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
Kadanji (Black Cockatoo) is my mother’s mother’s totem from the Kuku Nyungkul clan. It has been handed down from generation to generation.