Manbirrbbirr (small bush flowers) 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.
Kunkurra (Spiral Wind) ‘My designs, they are all alive living up in my head’- Janet Marawarr Janet Marawarr has depicted kunkurra, the spiralling wind associated with several sites in the Kardbam clan. On one level, this design can be interpreted as a depiction of the kinds of mini-cyclones common during Read more…
Ngaldadmurrng (Saratoga) This design tells the story of Saratoga dreaming, a freshwater fish that swims on the edge of creeks and rivers. This design is the Saratoga dreaming from the Mularra songline. Where the Saratoga we call Murdulngu, Danguny travelled from Malmyangarnak billabong to Mirrigatja. This Billabong was owned by Read more…
Wubbunj (Paperbark Canoe) “Wubbunj is our traditional canoe. This design is the old history story of how people came to live in this place we call Maningrida. Two old people were staying on the other side of the saltwater, in Narlarrambarr area. The old people slept in a paper bark Read more…
Dedded Wongkorr (ceremonial dilly bag with feathers) This design depicts a ‘wongkorr’ sacred dilly bag woven with brightly coloured orange parrot feathers called ‘dedded’. It is depicted alongside a digging stick. Wongkorr are used in a number of public ceremonial contexts, and are sacred objects for the Bininj Kunwok speaking Read more…
Makéddja (Turtle) Makéddja means turtle in the Ndjébbana language of the Kunibidji people of Maningrida.
Stingray This is Debbie Pascoe’s first ever screen print design. Printed as a two colour design. Debbie is from the Djinang language group in Maningrida, which according to the ABS Census has approximately 220 speakers.
Bah-je (hunting bag) 2007 Linda Gurawana is a Djinang speaker and she calls hunting bag or dilly bag bah-je. This design was created in 2007.
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…
