Description
This is a traditional Wobulkarra clan design, handed down to the artist by his forefathers.
Two dhukururru (sacred rocks) crossed over from Gopiya at Ḻaŋarra (Howard Island) to the mainland to get food, and then travelled upstream through Miliway and around the island. Ḻaŋarra is their country. These are Wobulkarra dhukururru, and their name is Gayindamawuy. The two rocks are female.
In this variation of the traditional clan design, Gayindamawuy are represented at the bottom centre of the painting, with their yellow, triangular nyaŋura (legs). Its yellow trapezium shape or ḻiya (head) in the top section of the design represents at once the heads of the dhukururru, and the tail of the Ŋuykal, the Giant Trevally, whose travels connect saltwater clans through Wobulkarra country and beyond. This version of the Ŋuykal tail is a traditional rendition of the design with the tail rendered as geometrical and straight-sided.
The interconnecting diamond shapes that fill out the bottom two thirds of the work are ḻatjin (mangrove worms) which are plentiful in the mangroves on Wobulkarra saltwater country and a much cherished food source.
Between Ḻaŋarra island and the mainland runs a channel of water known as Miliway, which is also the name of a site near the mouth where it flows out to sea. Yatjany describes this water as “sharp” – the power of it can break things up. The water cut this channel, breaking Ḻaŋarra off from the mainland. This channel can only be crossed on low tide.
Yatjany tells of how, at night, in the waters of Miliway, you can see glowing lights – black, red and white. “They’re scary – there’s something inside”, he explains. He talks about how the dhukururru floats. “One time I saw it on white sand”, he tells. “Yaka nhe dhu nhäma”, said his father “Don’t look”, “Yurrthurr” – “Bow your head”.
Yatjany’s daughter Gayindamawuy is named after the two Wobulkarra dhukururru, featured in this painting, standing in the mud at Gopiya.
