Stockroom339 of 623
Click to enlarge- Region
- Arnhem Land
- Community
- Yirrkala
Minala the long neck freshwater tortoise, c.1985
natural earth pigments on bark
94 x 31.5 cm
$2,500
Secure payment via Stripe. Prices in AUD.
- Provenance
- Purchased by William (Bill) McDonald directly from Dorothy Bennett. Thence by descent, private collection NSW
- Artwork story
- In the dreamtime, Minhala was originally a woman but she grew tired of being stung by leeches in the billabong when she went looking for waterlily nuts and bulbs. She changed herself into a long necked tortoise and lived in the freshwater billabong. As she swam among the reeds they made a special pattern beneath and over her shell. Men of the Dhalwongu tribe use these tortoise shell designs on their bodies as ceremonial decoration in sacred rites. The striped around her arms are the armbands she was wearing when she changed from woman to tortoise.