Yawkyawk in Stone Country Dress by Secret Platypus – Collection 2 NFS 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, Read more…
Kunngol (cloud) pant by Publisher Textiles – Collection 2 NFS This design depicts certain Kunngol (cloud) that signal to people of central Arnhem Land that the end of the wet season is approaching. After months of daily monsoonal rain in Arnhem Land, these clouds are light and fluffy, not like Read more…
Kunwardde dja Karrbarda (Rocks and Yam Vine) – Collection 2 – NFS Susan Marawarr is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. In this design, she has depicted karrbarda (long yam) on her traditional country, the kunwardde (stone country). Read more…
Mandjabu (Fish Trap) Skirt – Collection 2- NFS “In old times people would make these mandjabu (fish traps) to go fishing. They are made with vine we find in the jungle. That old man, Anchor Gulunba, he showed me how to make these fish traps. I would sit there and Read more…
Rrugurrgurda (mud crab) skirt – Collection 2 – NFS This design tells the story of Elizabeth’s homeland – a dreaming place, a good dreaming place with plenty of mud crabs. Elizabeth’s homeland lies east of Maningrida, at the mouth of the Blyth river. This country is known for a large Read more…
Man-kurndalh (Black Plums) Skirt Man-kurndalh (black plum) are a much loved manme (bush food). The edible black berries are good for harvest in the late dry to wet seasons.
Lino Print skirt – Collection 2 – NFS – ARtist unknown This fabric was created using the linocut fabric printing technique, which has been refined at Bábbarra Women’s Centre since it was introduced in the mid-1990s. The Lino tile is carved by the artist at Bábbarra Designs. It is printed on fabric Read more…
Manbirrbbirr (small bush flowers) – Bush dye top – collection 3 NFS 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 flowers. A multicoloured cloth with interlocking designs in a patchwork repeat. This cloth Read more…
Mandjabu Lino print pant – Collection 2 NFS Country to Couture 2016 Kuninjku people traditionally make two sorts of conical fish traps. One is called mandjabu and is made from a strong, durable vine called milil, and a smaller one is called manylik mandjabu, and made from the grass manylik. The mandjabuconical Read more…
Lorrkkon – Susan Marawarr ( Drawstring dress) Collection 2 – NFS The Lorrkkon or hollow-log coffin ceremony is the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony might take place many years after the person has died, and involves the placing of the deceased’s Read more…