Artist: Narritjin Maymuru | Title: Guwark (Sacred Crow) | Year: 1975 | Medium: natural earth pigments on bark | Dimensions: 46 x 29 cm
PROVENANCE
Yirrkala, NE Arnhem Land
Private Collection NSW
ARTWORK STORY
Guwark, the sacred bird of the Dreamtime, lives at the top of a sacred tree situated on the high cliffs above Blue Mud Bay. Only the very old initiated men can look upon this sacred tree, and then only at dawn, when the grey mists swirl about the tree and give an elusive glimpse of its branches. In this work the tree is represented by the pointed object depicted down the centre.
High on the top of the tree sits Guwark, waiting for cicadas and possums to scamper up the tree with messages from the people living on earth. Then he flies off across the ocean to the island of the spirits, Baralku, and tells their problems to the spirit heroes. After consultation amongst themselves, they appoint Barama, one of the chief spirits, to relay the answer to the big black bird, which then flies back across the ocean. As he approaches the tree he screeches out 'guwark guwark' and the possums and cicadas scamper up the tree to hear his message and take it down to the people anxiously waiting below.
Once Guwark was a man who went out fishing with a companion in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Huge seas overturned their canoe, and Guwark gave the only paddle to his companion, who drifted onto shore with it. Guwark was drowned and went up into the Milky Way, but each day he flies down to the sacred tree to wait for his messages, returning to the heavens each night.
Artist Profile
COMMUNITY/REGION
Yirrkala NE Arnhem Land, NT
LANGUAGE
Yolngu
BIOGRAPHY
At the time of his death in 1981, Narritjin Maymuru along with his brother Nanyin, and a classificatory brother Bokarra were the leaders of the Manggalili clan, a small nomadic group of about fifty people, who lived at Djarrakpi (Cape Shield), in North East Arnhem Land.
As with every clan, the Manggalili are associated with country, totems and design that places them on their rightful place within the North East Arnhem Land social structure. Each has a specific design, which they employ in body painting and artifact decoration for ceremony, as well as in their bark painting. It is as if all of the clan designs together were a tartan map that covers the entire landscape… Continue Reading
PROVENANCE
Yirrkala, NE Arnhem Land
Private Collection NSW
ARTWORK STORY
Guwark, the sacred bird of the Dreamtime, lives at the top of a sacred tree situated on the high cliffs above Blue Mud Bay. Only the very old initiated men can look upon this sacred tree, and then only at dawn, when the grey mists swirl about the tree and give an elusive glimpse of its branches. In this work the tree is represented by the pointed object depicted down the centre.
High on the top of the tree sits Guwark, waiting for cicadas and possums to scamper up the tree with messages from the people living on earth. Then he flies off across the ocean to the island of the spirits, Baralku, and tells their problems to the spirit heroes. After consultation amongst themselves, they appoint Barama, one of the chief spirits, to relay the answer to the big black bird, which then flies back across the ocean. As he approaches the tree he screeches out 'guwark guwark' and the possums and cicadas scamper up the tree to hear his message and take it down to the people anxiously waiting below.
Once Guwark was a man who went out fishing with a companion in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Huge seas overturned their canoe, and Guwark gave the only paddle to his companion, who drifted onto shore with it. Guwark was drowned and went up into the Milky Way, but each day he flies down to the sacred tree to wait for his messages, returning to the heavens each night.
Artist Profile
COMMUNITY/REGION
Yirrkala NE Arnhem Land, NT
LANGUAGE
Yolngu
BIOGRAPHY
At the time of his death in 1981, Narritjin Maymuru along with his brother Nanyin, and a classificatory brother Bokarra were the leaders of the Manggalili clan, a small nomadic group of about fifty people, who lived at Djarrakpi (Cape Shield), in North East Arnhem Land.
As with every clan, the Manggalili are associated with country, totems and design that places them on their rightful place within the North East Arnhem Land social structure. Each has a specific design, which they employ in body painting and artifact decoration for ceremony, as well as in their bark painting. It is as if all of the clan designs together were a tartan map that covers the entire landscape… Continue Reading