Bark Painting
date: label: Accession Date
content: 2 May 1949
name: label: Donor Name
content: American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "FOUR PANELS. TWO HUMAN, ONE ANIMAL AND ONE OF THE SEA. PREDOMINANTLY YELLOW OUTLINED IN WHITE ON BLACK. REFER: MOUNTFORD: ARNHEM LAND, V. I, PL. 95(C) & P. 298 SIMILAR BUT NOT OUR SPECIMEN. SACRED. JIRITJA. (NANGJIN INFORMANT). THE BOTTOM PANEL IS ON THE LAND. IN THE LEFT IS A LARGE ANCESTRAL WOMAN CALLED NGJINPILLILINGGOR STANDING ON TOP OF A SAND DUNE AT DJERAKMAN NEAR CAPE STEWART, AND THE OTHER YELLOW RECTANGLES ARE ALSO SAND-DUNES, ENCLOSED BY TWO YAM-STICKS. ON THE LEFT ARE EMU TRACKS, ON THE RIGHT ARE WHITE COCKATOOS FLYING AFTER BEING STARTLED BY THE WOMAN'S APPROACH. THERE ARE ALSO FIVE EMUS AND A SINGLE YAM (JUKUA). THE CENTRAL CROSS HATCHED BAND IS THE TRACK OF A SMALL WHITE SAND CRAB (GUNJAN). TOP RIGHT IS A MAN WHO HAS CAUGHT FOUR FISH BY SPEARING THEM FROM THE ROCKS (ON WHICH HE IS STANDING). HE IS NGURUGUJAMERI, A FISHERMAN. IN THE TOP LEFT IS A DESIGN SHOWING CRAB'S HOLES MADE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT (IN THE ORDER SHOWN BY ARROWS), THE CRABS IN A HOLE, AND THE MAZE OF TRACKS ON THE SAND AROUND EACH HOLE. BETWEEN THESE TWO PANELS IS A TREE. TWO MEN CALLED IKAWUNGA (NOT SHOWN) AND NGURUGUJAMERI APPROACH THIS TREE, SEE THE CRABS DIGGING AROUND IT, AND NGURUGUJAMERI SAYS 'LOOK, IKAWUNGA, I THINK WE CAN MAKE A DRAWING OF THE CRABS AND THEIR HOLES AND TRACKS FOR OURSELVES AND HIDE IT FROM EVERYONE.' THIS THEY DID. NGURUGUJAMERI, AND IKAWUNGA, HOWEVER, SHOWED IT TO THE YOUNG MEN BEFORE THEY DIED AND IT IS NOW KNOWN TO THE TRIBE. THEY SOLD IT TO GUNBORAIK, NANGJIN'S FATHER'S FATHER. IT HAS BEEN INHERITED FROM FATHER TO SON EVER SINCE, CANNOT BE SOLD, AND NOBODY CAN PAINT IT WITHOUT THE PRESENT OWNER'S PERMISSION. THE WOMAN SHOWN IS NGURUGUJAMERI'S WIFE, BOTH JIRITJA IN THE DREAM-TIME: AND SHE IS CARRYING A BARK CONTAINER ON HER HEAD." SEE CARD FOR SMALL ILLUSTRATION OF CRAB'S HOLES/TRACKS.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 4 Oct 2021
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 178294
label: USNM Number
content: E387443-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bark Painting
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 104 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 53 cm