WARINGARRI ABORIGINAL ARTS

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Balibaleng

Dora Griffiths continues in her father’s tradition by painting Country. In this print Dora depicts Balibaleng Midnight Creek in the Timber Creek area within the N.T. Balibaleng runs from the top left of the print across to the bottom right. The creek running down the bottom right is Saddle Creek and the two hills at the bottom are ant hills. The central hill is a small knob while the creek at the top right is Watermelon Creek. This creek was named after all the bush watermelon growing next to the creek providing a good source of food for cattle.

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Wandjina and the Spirits

Wandjina was like a God to our people, they believed that he would fill up the river and the water holes and give them food, kangaroos, turtles and other animals. Gwion Gwion figures are found in rock art around Kalumburu. Some are hunters, and some are dancers, and some are the servants of the Wandjina.

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Goodim – Keep River Gorge

This artist has depicted her mothers country. This is an area of the artist’s traditional country at Goodim near Keep River National Park close to Kununurra in Western Australia. This is spinifex country. The blue line curving through the painting represents Moonoomoorrem – the Keep River as it runs through the gorge indicated by the two hill ridges at the centre of the piece.

Basil Hall Editions.

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White Gum Tree

The red sap is good medicine to treat skin sores. It is crushed and boiled in water to make it soft, then rubbed on the sore to help with healing. It is also mixed with ochre for painting. The wood is good for fires and produces coals that last a long time. It is also good for making message sticks. The bark burns to a fine white ash that is mixed with chewing tobacco.

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Goordim

Emerging artist Cathy Ward learns from her culture and country from her grandmother Peggy Griffiths. In this painting she paints Goordim. Jinamoom, the Keep River flows through the painting and is joined by small tributaries. The hill on the left is Goordim, Butterfly Dreaming. The hill to the right is Eaglehawk Dreaming. The other hills are ant pits that scatter the country.

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Lonely Desert Happy Spirit

My Grandparents when they left their homeland in the desert they never seen their country home again for a long time and when they came back to see their homeland they were happy and proud to have returned

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Minnie Lumai Silk Paj

This painting relates a key Ngarranggarni (dreaming) story for the Miriwoong and Gadjerriwoong peoples for the ownership of country around Kununurra and to the east in a place called Yab-yabbe-geni-nim

The plains kangaroo (Jarlangarnang) was a Miriwoong man and the hill kangaroo (Nyangood) was a Gadjerriwoong man.  They had an argument about sugar bag (wild honey) which the plains kangaroo had hidden in the ridge.  The two kangaroos began to fight and the beeswax was scattered across the hill [represented by the circle motifs in the painting].   “You can see it now…. all the rocks.  Jarlangarnang told Nyangood  “This is not your place. This is Miriwoong country.”   So Nyangood followed the ridges back to his country.”

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History Beneath the Beauty

Woorrilbem holds a history. A blast from my grandmother’s past as a child she went to this billabong to collect the lily flowers, its bulb, mussels and other edible bush food to take back to her family. One particular day on a usual walk she saw two strange men way off in the distance. A manager on horse back and a black tracker leading a donkey with a sack on its back. They were tracking Aboriginal, Miriwoong people to work for the manager at the station. As the men came closer, my grandmother slipped into the billabong to hide until the men were out of sight. My grandmother then got out and started running as fast as she could back to her family, but it was too late as the strange men were already approaching the camp. With mixed emotions my grandmother spoke and pointed at the same time to the strange men, but the black tracker spoke in Miriwoong language and said they were friendly people looking for workers to work at the station for sugar, tea and tobacco as rations and brought flour to make bread as a peace offering, Some Miriwoong people did go to work for the strange manager man. My grandmother and her family stayed on country. If we don’t carry this story and tell our children the history of Woorrilbem and its beauty will take over and my grandmother’s Country will be lost and forgotten forever. The different coloured lily pads are my grandmothers emotions flowering through the billabong. The green lily pads are the original colours covering the history of my grandmother’s story. The straight lines represents the calm relaxing billabong before my grandmother entered the water.

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Status: Stock

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Night Herons

Our ancestors did paintings in caves that show these animals. The Night Herons cry at night to keep warm. The round circles are the eggs. Wungurr is the water snake that is the protector of the river and creeks so they won’t get dry. The dots represent the rain. There are hunting tools such as spears and boomerangs used for hunting kangaroo and digging sticks for roots and the yam plant. Aboriginal people painted these things long time ago. The water snake is good for eating, so are the yams.

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Status: Stock

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History Beneath the Beauty

Woorrilbem holds a history. A blast from my grandmother’s past as a child she went to this billabong to collect the lily flowers, its bulb, mussels and other edible bush food to take back to her family. One particular day on a usual walk she saw two strange men way off in the distance. A manager on horse back and a black tracker leading a donkey with a sack on its back.  They were tracking Aboriginal, Miriwoong people to work for the manager at the station.  As the men came closer, my grandmother slipped into the billabong to hide until the men were out of sight.  My grandmother then got out and started running as fast as she could back to her family, but it was too late as the strange men were already approaching the camp. With mixed emotions my grandmother spoke and pointed at the same time to the strange men, but the black tracker spoke in Miriwoong language and said they were friendly people looking for workers to work at the station for sugar, tea and tobacco as rations and brought flour to make bread as a peace offering,  Some Miriwoong people did go to work for the strange manager man. My grandmother and her family stayed on country.  If we don’t carry this story and tell our children the history of Woorrilbem and its beauty will take over and my grandmother’s Country will be lost and forgotten forever.

The different coloured lily pads are my grandmothers emotions flowering through the billabong. The green lily pads are the original colours covering the history of my grandmother’s story.  The straight lines represents the calm relaxing billabong before my grandmother entered the water.