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Feathers
A round Lino print design by Joy Garlbin depicting feathers.
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Mábbarla (Jelly Fish)
Mábbarla means Jelly Fish in Ndjébbana.
‘My homeland is Entrance island, Haulround island and Juda point. I really like Haulround island and that’s where we collect barruar (seagull egg). Entrance island is my favourite camping area, I go across with boat. Balanda (non-Aboriginal or European people) can’t go into those islands or Juda point without permission from me. We have a sacred totem ngaduma (palm tree) at those places and if people destroy it, we will have a strong wind and maybe a cyclone.’ Marilyn James 2021
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Marebu and Bush Flowers
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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Welebme (flat)
This is a Kune word that refers to the flattening out of items stones, flat leaves and kunbad (money).
This design shows different items that have flattened out. Carol designed this for her grandkids to show them the tradition of Welebme.
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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, long long long time ago Bawáliba were here, before people were on the land. Bawáliba used to go out hunting and care for country. They hunt carrying fish traps and digging sticks, near the homeland Djinkarr. They go out hunting on the floodplains with dilly bags and digging sticks. They collect a lot of bush foods, and sleep together with one bark shelter.
Sometimes now they still come alive when we sleep, they might come to our houses and peep through the window. At night, they cover themselves with white clay and red cloth tied around their waist. If we hear them, we jump out of bed and get up to look -but they have disappeared, they’re just too quick. Bawáliba might knock on the window to remind us they are there looking out for us.If you listen deeply you can hear them whisper, sometimes they talk about us and might say, ‘why are those people making camp here?’ then they realise ‘Oh they are family from here, it’s ok, they are just sleeping here for the night’.
During the day they always turn into stone and they sleep. We still know that green rock covered in moss near Djinkarr, that’s Bawáliba sleeping.
Some of my ancestors used to speak the same language as the Bawaliba, but all those old people are passed away now. It’s a little bit sad for us, because no one now can speak that Bawaliba language anymore.’ Lucy Yarawanga 2019
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Eiffel tower and the Maladj spirit
“I want to tell you about my design, that Eiffel tower one.
This year it was my first time going to Paris. I didn’t know that place, nothing. We travelled around the world to get there, we flew underneath the world in an aeroplane.
Paris was a big, crowded city. They speak a different language there, just like here in Maningrida with all our different languages.
The Bábbarra artists and Ingrid, we were all walking around, like tourists. We went on the boat in the Paris river. There was a film crew taking videos of us. We saw so many beautiful buildings covered with black string (iron balconies) and big statues. We’d never seen things like that before.
I remember when we got off that boat and I looked up and saw that tower. When I first looked up at that tower, it made me happy- it’s so long up into the sky. We walked towards it. I was standing there watching that tower and thinking, ‘wow, first time for me seeing a tower like that’.
Then I was thinking, and I said to myself, when I go back to my own country, I’m going to paint that tower.
We came to Maningrida, I started to draw. I drew that tower from France, but also I drew maladj (stone country orphan spirit), women’s sacred woven mat, fish traps and rolk (insects). I also put round kunngol (clouds) in the design, those circles. That maladj spirit, it’s standing there next to the Eiffel tower, looking at the dancing lights at night. The tower is from Paris, but everything else in my design I took from my mother’s country and my father’s country.
Maybe one day I’ll travel back to France, and take my design with me to show them, all the French mob.” Janet Marawarr
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Bawáliba and Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent)
‘My Kikka (mother), when she was alive, she would tell me these stories. I was just a little girl and she would tell us the stories in her language Gurrgoni.
In the camps there were boy and girl Bawaliba, and old Bawaliba too. They loved to dance by the firelight, keeping rhythm with a stick. They had lots of hair, they were really tall and skinny, with spots on their bodies. The Bawaliba lived a long time in peace. They were the only spirits on their country and so they were never disturbed.
One day, a long time ago, the Bawaliba were out hunting and they saw a large snake- they didn’t know then but she was the Rainbow Serpent. They were really scared, they had never seen that. creature before. She was really beautiful- like a normal king brown snake but with a rainbow from the sky on her back. The rainbow serpent was really hungry, and she could smell the Bawaliba from a long way away. She was out looking for food. The Bawaliba tried to stop Ngalyod coming for them but she was just too quick. She snuck up behind the Bawaliba and before they could get away she ate them up. When she was really full and couldn’t eat anymore Bawaliba she changed the rest of them into stone. Still til this day, the Bawaliba stay on that same country as stones.’ Lucy Yarawanga
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Djomi (Fresh Water Spirit)
This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djomi fresh water spirit mermaid.
The Djomi figure is a mermaid like spirit with fish tail that lives in the fresh water stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djomi is a known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.
‘If you go there you can get pregnant easily. Djomi has babies, and they can give others babies too. The Djomi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djomi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djomi.
Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men, they are too scared of that Djomi. When we visit the Djomi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djomi crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djomi spirits. They are looking for a mother.
This Djomi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djunguys to paint this Djomi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way.
This design also depicts the fresh water lily leaves, and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.
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Gurrpurdu (Diving Bird)
A design by emerging textile designer, Charmaine Pascoe.
‘My Gurrpurdu (diving bird) was white. She flew from Gan Gan to Gapuwiyak and then to Yathalamarra. And then she flew to Gartji.
At Gartji two fresh water seaweed shoots, one long and one short were trying to keep diving bird down. They were saying, “Don’t go away you belong to this country”. Diving bird said “No! I’m going to travel around to other country”. She was flapping her wings and then those two seaweed shoots let her go.
Then diving bird flew to make water hole at Gamurra Gu-yurra. She tasted the water but it was salty not fresh water. Then she put her poo like white clay on the ground at Gamurra Gu-yurra. The while clay was used for painting, funerals and ceremonies.
Then she continued to fly to Ji-balbal where she put the white clay again and then from Ji-balbal she dived underwater to Gochan Jiny-jirra. When she got there she got out of the water and was flapping her wings. At the same time she was singing. She was using her wings to dry out so that she could fly to Nangak.’ Charmaine Pascoe 2020