Notebook, Handmade Paper-MNM600

In this Dreaming story, two dog ancestors, a Jampijinpa and a Napangardi, travelled from the west to the east. At Tapu (a rockhole), the two dogs separated. The female dog, Napangardi, went to the south. The male dog, Jampijinpa, went to the north. Eventually he became lonely and howled for Napangardi in the south. She came running to him, and they married each other at Ngarnka. They wore men's and women's marriage headdresses, and Jampijinpa painted himself with white clay for the ceremony. The two dogs continued running east, before arriving in Warlaku (Ali Curung). Many other dogs were living in Warlaku when they arrived. There were many families of dogs, mothers and fathers and children and uncles all living together. Jampijinpa and Napangardi made a burrow to rest in and started a big family of dogs there. They chose to stay in Warlaku and live with all the other dogs. In this way, the malikijarra Jukurrpa (two dogs Dreaming) tells the story of proper conduct in families and marriages.

In the remote Tiwi Islands, a 20-strong group of female Elders have been meeting to sing for decades.

Their mission: to compose and perform songs that hold cultural, genealogical, geographical and spiritual knowledge that has been passed down through thousands of years of Tiwi storytelling, ceremony and in the songlines that circle the islands. 

Their goal: to preserve and pass these song stories to their children, grandchildren and future generations. 

The Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group from the Tiwi Islands have been sisters and friends all their lives. As young women they composed songs and as Elders and mentors in their Community, they draw on the old ways of Tiwi song traditions to help young Tiwi people connect with their language and cultural identity, also creating new songs. 

Murli La is a joint project between the ILF and Hardie Grant and the book is written by the Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group in partnership with Dr Genevieve Campbell. The ILF is extremely grateful for Dr Campbell’s knowledge and assistance in producing the book. 

This publication by Myles Russell-Cook accompanies the exhibition Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala, which celebrates the National Gallery of Victoria’s extraordinary collection of work by Yolnu women artists who have worked at Buku-Larrngay Mulka Centre (Buku), in North-East Arnhem Land.

Exhibition:

Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala is an exhibition that celebrates the NGV’s extraordinary collection of work by Yolŋu women artists from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre (Buku), in North-East Arnhem Land. Buku is the Indigenous community-run art centre located in Yirrkala, a small Aboriginal community, approximately 700 kilometres east of Darwin. Works by women from the Yirrkala region have been developing an appreciative audience, both nationally and internationally.

According to Buku, under Yolŋu Law the ‘Land’ extends to include sea, and both land and sea are connected in a single cycle of life for which the Yolŋu hold their songs, sacred designs and art. Yolŋu women at Buku are known for channelling this unique worldview into daring and innovative works of art that demonstrate their mastery over the unique medium of bark.

For more than two decades the NGV has been acquiring important works on bark by women artists from Buku, who before 2000 seldom painted on bark or made ḻarrakitj (painted hollow poles). Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala is an important exhibition that brings together great singular master artists and shares their important stories with a Melbourne audience.

The exhibition highlights significant works by Noŋgirrŋa Marawili, Ms N Yunupiŋu, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, Barrupu Yunupiŋu, Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Mulkun Wirrpanda, Naminapu Maymuru-White, and more.