Gurrumaṯtji at Ŋaliyindi (Magpie Geese at Ŋaliyindi Homeland), 2024
$980.00
Gurrumaṯtji, or Gumaŋ in the artist’s Ganalbiŋu Malibirr clan tongue, refers to the iconic Magpie Geese that congregate in large numbers around freshwater billabongs in Arnhem Land. Gurrumaṯtji are especially important for Ganalbiŋu, who also go by the name Gurrumba’kurrumba, which means a literal flock of Magpie Geese. Gurrumaṯtji is sung, danced and painted on the bodies of participant during Ganalbiŋu life-cycle ceremonies like bäpurru (funeral) and dhapi’ (young boys’ initiation).
This painting depicts the freshwaters of Ŋaliyindi billabong near Muwaṉgi, the Arafura Swamp, on Ganalbiŋu country near Ramingining. There you can find nyaŋura (long-necked turtle), nyuŋala’ (oxe-eye herring), ŋawk’ŋawk (waterlilies) and the much-coveted gurrumaṯtji (magpie goose). Floating amongst all this life are djalŋiny (leeches) and wokara (a small sedge grass). Sometimes this design includes a small dots known as maḏitj, the seeds of the waterlily which are eaten by gurrumaṯtji and found in the waters of the swamp.
Ganalbiŋu Yolŋu are renowned gurrumaṯtji hunters in Arnhem Land and have developed a whole range of specialised technology and techniques to catch their prized prey. This includes the long-nosed Gumang Derrka canoe, designed to seperate the thick sedge-grasses that fill the Arafura swamp and made famous in the film 10 Canoes. Hunters also make unique tree-top hunting huts that are used on the long water-bound hunting trips during the flooded months of the wet-season.
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