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Yawkyawk in Stone Country Yawkyawk is a word from the Aboriginal Kunwinjku/Kunwok language, meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’. Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, yawkyawks are usually depicted with the tails of fish. They have long hair, associated with trailing blooms of algae, typically found Read more…

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Bawáliba (Stone Country Mimih) ‘Bawáliba is the djang (Dreaming) of my mother and my uncles. They are good spirits, they protect us and they recognise families. They are really tall- just like human beings, like us. They dance late at night and have a lot of hair. In olden times, Read more…

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Makassan Boat ‘This is from before when Aboriginal people were using canoe. When the Makassan came my ancestors paddled to the Makassan boats in their canoe and gave the Makassan’s food from our country. Before white man the Makassan travelled around and traded tobacco, rice, flour, sugar, square teabag  made Read more…

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Manbirrbbirr dja Kunwardde Manbirrbbirr dja Kunwardde  In Kuninjku the name manbirrbbirr is used for a number of densely flowering shrubs and small trees including Verticordia cunninghamii, yellow flowering Austromyrtus species and also Acacia platycarpa which also has dense white. Kunwardde means stone, rock or money in Kuninjku. This design combines imagery of the country around Mumeka with Read more…

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