Bula’bula Arts

Lidji Lidji (Finch) This artwork represents totemic finches. These birds herald the beginning of the dry season and are associated with the Ganalbingu clan. Lidji Lidji are also represented in ceremonial song and dance.

Jabiru This is a story for the Wanybarrnga clan family.  The Jabiru is in the water and he flaps his wings, hitting the water and causes it to ripple. After a funeral ceremony, leaders for this clan family draw the Jabiru’s water ripples into the sand/earth. This symbolises a cleansing Read more…

Baru Dhawu (Crocodile Story) Baru (the crocodile man), was from the Gumatj clan. People usually call him Gurdu Gurdu or Baru which means crocodile. He lived his life at a place called Yirrkala. Living near him were other people, and when Baru didn’t have enough to eat he began to Read more…

Djang’kawu sisters Creation Story featuring mud crabs longbums and lizards This painting is part of the Djang’kawu sisters Creation Story. The details of this story can vary according to clan and/or country, but the central story is the same, which is one of fertility and procreation. The Djang’kawu sisters gave Read more…

Shield Shields were used as modesty shields for women, normally worn around the shoulders or around the waist.

Mindirr (Pandanus Bag) Miṉḏirr (dilly bags) are made from gunga (Pandanus spiralis), baḻgurr (kurrajong) and natural bush dyes. The body of the miṉḏirr is made from gunga, and the handles from baḻgurr. Once the gunga fronds and baḻgurr bark have been collected, they are stripped and prepared then boiled with the dyes. Miṉḏirr were used traditionally for every day Read more…

Mindirr (Pandanus Bag) Miṉḏirr (dilly bags) are made from gunga (Pandanus spiralis), baḻgurr (kurrajong) and natural bush dyes. The body of the miṉḏirr is made from gunga, and the handles from baḻgurr. Once the gunga fronds and baḻgurr bark have been collected, they are stripped and prepared then boiled with the dyes. Miṉḏirr were used traditionally for every day Read more…

Northern Marbled Velvet Gecko (Oedura marmorata) Aboriginal art in Ramingining, Central Arnhem Land is commonly illustrated through designs and images of animals, plants, and landscape. These motifs commonly reflect the artists ancestral inheritance and their dreamings and are referred to as totems. For this painting, the artist has painted Northern Marbled Velvet Read more…

Shannon’s frilled necked lizards The Wagilag Sisters are central to the four important ceremonies of the Dhuwa moiety; the Djungguwan, the Gunabibi, the Ngulmarrk, and the Mandaialla. The story is primarily an account of how, in the distant past, the two Wagilag Sisters came out of the southern interior and Read more…

Bathi (Pandanus Basket) Bathi are woven from the split leaves of the Screw Palm (Pandanus Spiralis). Coil weaving was introduced to Arnhem Land in the 1930s. It was adapted from techniques used by Indigenous women throughout South East Australia.