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Kunmadj
Kunmadj is the Kuninjku term for large woven collecting baskets, known as dillybags.
They are often made from the burney vine (Malaisia scandens), a strong, pliable plant that grows along the ground and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The baskets are used to collect a variety of heavy foods, such as fish caught in conical fish traps or a good harvest of yams. As well as being of practical use, dillybags are of cultural significance to Arnhem Land people. Dillybags are totemic objects and they are associated with particular sites in the landscape.
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Yam Vine
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Bah-je (hunting bag)
Linda Gurawana is a Djinang speaker and she calls hunting bag or dilly bag bah-je.
This design was created in 2007 however Babbarra printers keep experimenting with colours and layers to make it fresh.
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Marebu
Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. She is an accomplished artist working across mediums including painting, sculpture, weaving and textile design. For this design, Deborah Wurrkidj has depicted Marebu (woven pandanus mats).
Works in fibre from the Maningrida region are widely recognised as some of the finest in Australia. Artists confidently push the boundaries of fibre craft and cultural expression, adapting traditional techniques and forms to produce strikingly inventive and aesthetically exquisite artworks.
Artists weave many different kinds of mats. Conical mats were traditionally used to shield babies from mosquitoes. Long flat mats were used for blocking creeks so that fish would be diverted into fish traps. A small triangular mat made of pandanus fibre used to be worn by women during ceremonial gatherings, tied around their back and covering them at the front. Mats are also used for wrapping and rinsing food in water.
Artists usually use kundayarr, pandanus spiralis, to weave decorative round or oblong mats, as well as the less common triangular and conical shapes. Weaving is physically hard work, now done only by women. They colour the pandanus using natural dyes made from the roots, leaves or flowers of plants within the weaver’s clan estate.
The radial woven patterns of the finest round mats appear to vibrate with colour, sometimes regarded as an aesthetic manifestation of deep cultural meaning, as there is a significant spiritual dimension to pandanus mats.
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Kunkih (Mud Ripples)
This design depicts the patterns of the freshwater mud ripples, which emerge after strong monsoonal wet seasons on the Djinkarr and Nangak flood plains.
These ripples form on the earth’s surface in delicate repetitive and shifting patterns. The mud ripples move, crack, disappear and re-emerge in response to the changing wind, rains and new sun.
The mud ripples depicted in this design are on Elizabeth’s homeland, the Djinkarr and Nangak floodplains south of Maningrida in Arnhem Land.
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Kunkih (Mud Ripples)
This design depicts the patterns of the freshwater mud ripples, which emerge after strong monsoonal wet seasons on the Djinkarr and Nangak flood plains.
These ripples form on the earth’s surface in delicate repetitive and shifting patterns. The mud ripples move, crack, disappear and re-emerge in response to the changing wind, rains and new sun.
The mud ripples depicted in this design are on Elizabeth’s homeland, the Djinkarr and Nangak floodplains south of Maningrida in Arnhem Land.
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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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Njá-barawarra Na-míbba (Hammerhead shark) and Dilly Bag
A mixed design featuring four of Joy’s most popular lino tiles.
