Namurrungkidj (Fish Stealing Spirit) The Namurrungkidj is an evil natured spirit who goes out at night stealing from fish from rivers and billabongs. It is believed that Namurrungkidj spirit also presides over Mankolod, ensuring that the large fresh-water crustaceans which inhabit the waterholes—known to the Kunwinjku as ngarl—remain plentiful.
Burlupurr (Dilly Bag) Burlupurr, or dilly bag, is a large woven collecting basket. These large bags are often made from the vine ‘Malasia scandens’, a strong pliable plant which grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. The bags are used to collect any kind of Read more…
Coil Basket Coiling technique was introduced in the 1920s at Goulburn Island to the Maung people by missionaries and quickly spread to the mainland. Many artists produce coiled baskets of varied shapes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baby baskets made from dyed pandanus. Artists combine colours and Read more…
Coil Basket Coiling technique was introduced in the 1920s at Goulburn Island to the Maung people by missionaries and quickly spread to the mainland. Many artists produce coiled baskets of varied shapes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baby baskets made from dyed pandanus. Artists combine colours and Read more…
Mako (didjeridu) Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern Territory is the traditional home of the didjeridu, a rhythmic wind instrument used by Aboriginal people of the region. Its use spread globally in part because the instrument was adopted by world music enthusiasts, and the profile of the Read more…
Yok (Bandicoot) This work depicts Yok (bandicoot) Djarngo. They are part of a larger story of two bininj (men), Kamarrang and Wamut (skin name) who went hunting for yok (bandicoot) with their djamo (dogs) but couldn’t find any. In the past the Djungkay (managers) would perform rituals at the site Read more…
Djamo (dog) eating The djamo (dog) holds special mythological as well as practical significance for people of Central Arnhem land, particularly women. The men used to go hunting with a spear and the women with a dog. If the men didn’t catch a kangaroo, the women would catch a goanna. If Read more…
Mako (didjeridu) Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern Territory is the traditional home of the didjeridu, a rhythmic wind instrument used by Aboriginal people of the region. Its use spread globally in part because the instrument was adopted by world music enthusiasts, and the profile of the 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…
