Maningrida Arts & Culture

Kunkurra (The Spiralling Wind) ‘Kunkurra’, the spiralling wind is associated with several sites in the Kardbam clan estate. On one level, this painting can be interpreted as a depiction of the kinds of mini-cyclones common during the wet season in Arnhem Land, where the artist lives. In this painting, Kunkurra Read more…

Namumuyak and Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent) Namumuyak was a man who came from the sea and traveled inland. As he went he put children in their land and gave them their languages and their clan. He also put plants on the land and told bininj which ones they should eat and Read more…

Namumuyak Namumuyak was a man who came from the sea and traveled inland. As he went he put children in their land and gave them their languages and their clan. He also put plants on the land and told bininj which ones they should eat and which ones they should Read more…

Ngalyod (Rainbow Serpent) The rainbow serpent is a powerful ancestral being for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. Characteristics of the rainbow serpent vary greatly from group to group and also depending on the site. Often viewed as a female generative figure, the rainbow serpent can sometimes also be male. She has both Read more…

Wak Wak This painting depicts a sacred site at ‘Kurrurldul’, an outstation south of Maningrida. The ‘rarrk’, or abstract crosshatching, on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called ‘Djimarr’. Today this being exists in the form of a rock, which is permanently submerged at the bottom Read more…

Wak Wak This painting depicts a sacred site at ‘Kurrurldul’, an outstation south of Maningrida. The ‘rarrk’, or abstract crosshatching, on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called ‘Djimarr’. Today this being exists in the form of a rock, which is permanently submerged at the bottom Read more…

Wak Wak This painting depicts a sacred site at ‘Kurrurldul’, an outstation south of Maningrida. The ‘rarrk’, or abstract crosshatching, on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called ‘Djimarr’. Today this being exists in the form of a rock, which is permanently submerged at the bottom Read more…

Ngokngok (Owl) Ngokngok or mun-ngokngok is the Southern Boobook owl. Their clan is Warrawarra and the are connected to witch doctors and traditional healers.  

Lorrkon (Hollow Log) The Lorrkon or bone pole coffin ceremony was the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log which was decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed Read more…