Ngunyin (Dillybag)
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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Bindi Bambayal (Yam Leaf)
This fabric shows my yam leaf design. Yams are bush tucker to all our families. We go out and dig for it when they are in season. When the leaves turn dark brown, we know that the tubers are ready for harvest. I personally like cooking yams on the coals of a camp fire.
I like drawing plants or parts of them because I work as a gardener and forester for Jabalbina, a cultural heritage body for our Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners. We grow native plants from seeds or cuttings to help restore cleared land into a healthy rainforest.
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Ngujay (Freshwater Turtle)
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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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Kadanji (Black Cockatoo)
Kadanji (Black Cockatoo) is my mother’s mother’s totem from the Kuku Nyungkul clan. This totem is passed down generation after generation to your newborns.
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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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Green Olive Pigeon
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Kurriyala (Python)
Kurriyala is my family totem. It lives in the rainforest but will come inside if you aren’t careful. Generally, he is not harmful.
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Wabul (Pigeon)
The black and white pigeon is known to many tribes; it is used for food and other tribal matters. Feathers might be used for ceremony and dancing.
