Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation

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Waterlily

This fabric was created using the linocut printing technique. The lino tile has been carved by the artist in Maningrida, and has been printed by hand using a variety of colours and layers. The linocut technique ensures each textile piece is a one-off, limited edition piece. Bábbarra Women’s Centre supports the economic independence of Indigenous women in the Arnhem Land community of Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia. Designs created by the women at Bábbarra reflect strong cultural knowledge, which is passed down to younger generations through their textile design practice.

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Team seagulls

This fabric was created using the linocut printing technique. The lino tile has been carved by the artist in Maningrida, and has been printed by hand using a variety of colours and layers. The linocut technique ensures each textile piece is a one-off, limited edition piece. Bábbarra Women’s Centre supports the economic independence of Indigenous women in the Arnhem Land community of Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia. Designs created by the women at Bábbarra reflect strong cultural knowledge, which is passed down to younger generations through their textile design practice.

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Red and blue Lily

This lily grows in the billabong on Leon’s grandmothers country. 

‘We always go there for long-neck turtle, good hunting at that place. 

We eat the lily also.’

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Jelly Fish

Joy made this design as a waring to all the kids.. ‘don’t go into the water during Jelly fish season!’ 

Joy 2023

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Yam Daisy

Marilyn James depicts the story of Yam Daisy with her hand cut, lino print design. 

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Djomi Egg

This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djomi freshwater spirit mermaid.

 

The Djomi figure is a mermaid like spirit with fish tail that lives in the freshwater stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djomi is a known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.

 

‘There is a swamp by the ocean, near my home, where all the Djomi live and come to lay their eggs, they lay them here to grow more and more Djomi. When the wet season comes, the cyclones, storms, and big rain, brings enough water for the Djomi to swim out and into the water ways surrounding Maningrida.

 

Anyone wanting to have a baby can go to that place and Djomi will give them a baby. This is a real story; we have lots of Djomi babies here in Maningrida.

 

When the big rains of wet season are too strong, Djomi swim up into the pipes to hide and keep safe. Sometimes they will keep swimming further up the pipes and into pipes of people’s homes, they can travel everywhere. The Djomi carries human babies with them and will sometimes put babies into the water that people in Maningrida drink, that’s why we see many young women expecting babies.’ – Joy Garlbin 2023

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Lady Dreaming

‘Lady Dreaming is near the three palm trees, Ngarndúma on the Arnhem highway. One of the mermaids is called Jilapara and the other is Lilima – they are two sisters. My husbands grandmother knows this story. She’s like djomi but different. This one is big and fat, djomi is small. they all make babies. This one – the long one came all the way from Ramingining. They were travelling and they are there forever. It’s an old fashioned story, we can talk about it.’ Verity Bangarra 2023

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Manyawok (Cheeky Yam)

This design depicts the cheeky yam, which is found on the artist’s country, near the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. Yams are an important bush food that are collected during the wet season.

Unlike other yams that can be eaten roasted, the cheeky yam can be poisonous if not properly prepared. The preparation process of the yam traditionally takes two days. Firstly, the yams are dug up with a digging stick and boiled over a fire. They are then peeled and sliced into thin strips, which are placed in a special dillybag woven by women from pandanus leaves. The yam-laden dillybag is then strung from an overhanging branch into a river, so the bag just touches the flowing fresh water. The cheeky yams are left like this overnight to allow the running water to remove the toxins. The next morning, people return and collect the dillybag, and leave the yam pieces in full sunlight to dry out. Finally, when the yam pieces have dried in the sun for a day, they are ready to eat.

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Manyawok (Cheeky Yam)

This design depicts the cheeky yam, which is found on the artist’s country, near the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. Yams are an important bush food that are collected during the wet season.

Unlike other yams that can be eaten roasted, the cheeky yam can be poisonous if not properly prepared. The preparation process of the yam traditionally takes two days. Firstly, the yams are dug up with a digging stick and boiled over a fire. They are then peeled and sliced into thin strips, which are placed in a special dillybag woven by women from pandanus leaves. The yam-laden dillybag is then strung from an overhanging branch into a river, so the bag just touches the flowing fresh water. The cheeky yams are left like this overnight to allow the running water to remove the toxins. The next morning, people return and collect the dillybag, and leave the yam pieces in full sunlight to dry out. Finally, when the yam pieces have dried in the sun for a day, they are ready to eat.

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Jin-merduwa (mermaid)

A beautiful, one-off, linocut, hand printed design by Elizabeth Wullunmingu depicting the story of Jin-merduwa.  Sometimes she also includes her Garriwa turtle print. 

My niece, Stephanie James, is singing a song called Diyama, and it is about Jin-merduwa. She is in the Ripple Effect Band. They are now famous in Maningrida and everywhere. Her great grandmother told her about the Jin-merduwa living at Gupanga.  I heard the story before Stephanie.  Now I hear her singing the story about that place.  I am very proud of her. We have the same country.  Our stories match.  She is singing the story, and I am making artwork about the story. 

My lino print shows the Jin-merduwa who live at Gupanga. Gupanga is located at the mouth of the Blyth River.  It is a saltwater place.  There must be more than one Jin-merduwa living there?  They eat fish, shellfish and seaweed.  Sometimes they travel to the end of the river to find food in the ocean, but they don’t go far and always swim back to their home.

Gupanga is a beautiful place.  The sand is golden, there are mangroves, and the water is cloudy.  It is good hunting in that area.  When we lived there, we got lots of barramundi, mud crabs, shellfish, everything!

This is a bit of a dangerous story.  I can’t say too much about this sacred place. The Rangers help to look after this place, but they also know they must be careful.   

Kuninjku people call mermaids yawkyawk.  Yawkyawk are freshwater.  In my language, Burarra, we call mermaids Jin-merduwa.  Jin-merduwa are a bit different to yawkyawk but are also a type of mermaid.

I love to make lino print fabric showing Jin-merduwa. I like using bright colours, but sometimes I print using black and white.

Ripple Effect Band – Diyama Song

 https://rippleeffectband.bandcamp.com/track/diyama

This song was written by Stephanie James in her language of Burarra. It is about the mermaids that live in the river in her country of Kupanga.

Her father sings the Kun-borrk traditional music from the Diyama song cycle to link his daughter’s music to the past.

Credits

from Wárrwarra, released July 5, 2018
Written by Stephanie James, D. Maxwell (father for Stephanie)
Produced by Paul Mac, Jodie Kell, Clint Bracknell
Audio Engineer: Campbell Barnes
Guitar: Jodie Kell, Jolene Lawrence
Bass guitar: Tara Rostron
Drums: Jolene Lawrence
Keys: Patricia Gibson
Lead Vocals: Stephanie James
Back up Vocals: Jodie Kell
Diyama vocals: D. Maxwell

A beautiful, one-off, linocut, hand printed design by Elizabeth Wullunmingu depicting the story of Jin-merduwa.  Sometimes she also includes her turtle print.