Elcho Island, Australia
Dutch gin bottle
early 20th century, Elcho Island,
Northern Territory
natural pigments on carved wood.
The Macassans' square-faced Dutch gin bottles supplied alcohol and glass from excellent scraping and cutting tools, which could be traded inland. The bottles were incorporated into cultural life and developed ceremonial meaning for some groups along the Arnhem Land coast. Here the bottle is recreated in sculptural form and given traditional Elcho Island markings.
New Acquisition
Yertabrida SOLOMON
Australia, Ngarrindjeri people, South Australia, 19th century.
Hunting party, Hunting scene and Native encampment
1879, South Australia. three lithographs on paper.
J,C, Earl Bequest Fund 2008
Ngarrindjeri woman Yertabrida Solomon was the first recorded femal Aboriginal artist and one of the few Aboriginal people of the nineteenth century known to have made drawings on paper. She lived for at least part of her life at Milang, on the shores of Lake Alexandrina. Although Solomon's untutored style is comparable to that of her contemporary Tommy McRae, her work has gone largely unrecognised. Her depiction of daily life includes such traditional Ngarrindjeri items as marsupial skin cloaks and bags and baskets made from rush or sedge as well as a European billy over a fire. Her hunting scene shows events at a different times in the one frame. Missionary George Taplin included these lithographs in his 1879 book The Folklore, Manners, Customs and Languages of the South Australian Aborigines and explained that Solomon 'was never in any school in her life, and never received any instruction in drawing'.
Saw this in the South Australian Museum.
Why the Aboriginal people added a spearthrower to their spears, by adding this, Aboriginal men could greatly increase the force of their throw without ruining their aim. This meant that they could bring animals and birds down faster and from greater distances. Some spears were never thrown but had important ceremonial uses.
Image: 'Emu hunting scene', painted by Jack Miritji, a Djinang man from Maningrida, Arnhem Land. Emus were a highly desired source of meat. The museum acquired this bark painting from the Aboriginal Affairs Department in 1969.
Useful information about hunting: Hunting, particularly of large animals such as kangaroo, emu or dugong, was men's work. Men hunted individually and in groups, sometimes tracking animals over many kilometres. Back at camp, food was divided among the relations of the hunter according to set rules.
This painting depicts a Dreaming story about men from the stone country who went hunting with their dog and speared a goanna. Pet dingoes were often used to help with hunting. Mick Kubarrki from eastern Arnhem Land painted this in the early 1970s.
Donated to the museum by W G Inglis in 1987.
Fishing
From coastal reefs to inland waterholes, the water provided an abundant source of food. Both men and women used their intimate knowledge of different fish species with a great range of fishing techniques. In many communities today, fishing remains an important part of daily life, often combining European and Aboriginal methods and equipment.
This painting is called, 'The Thunder-man, Tjambuwal and the man Maijaunguri at Jalboa'. During the Dreaming, Maijaunguri was fishing for rock cod, which he cooked on a fire. In the sky Tjambuwal could smell the cooking fish. C P Mouritford collected this bark painting at Yirrkala in north east Arnhem Land in 1952.
Water
In arid regions, Aboriginal people had many ways of finding enough drinking water. They cared deeply for their water sources, often giving them important religious and social meanings.
Image: Aralukaja, an important water soakage and ceremonial centre in waripiri/Anmatyerre country near Mt Allan station. Waterholes or soakages invariably feature in Western Desert painting: Dreaming Ancestors created them and travelled between them, as Aboriginal people did. Painted by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri 1976.
Aboriginal people have complex systems of medical practices, remedies and diagnoses. They made medicines from plants, animals and minerals, and also knew that some plants were narcotic or mind-altering.
Image: 'Mungada, Medicine man'. The mungada came across from the mainland to Groote Eylandt. In this painting he has body scars, shown as horizontal lines across the chest. Below these is a small bag in which he keeps his medicine charms. This mungada is also wearing a pubic tassel. C P Mountford collected this painting on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory in 1948.
Glues
Aboriginal people have a deep understanding of the resources in their environment. By making and using adhesives and fixatives, they had an efficient means of holding things together to produce strong, long-lasting tools and weapons.
Image: 'Honeycomb'. This painting shows the inside of a wild bee hive.
The hard wax was an important adhesive in northern Australia. It was often used to mount spearheads. H U Shepherdson collected this painting at Elcho Island in Arnhem Land in the early 1930s.
Strong, durable and able to maintain a sharp edge, stone tools were highly prized and were important trade items. Stone tools were indispensable to the never-ending daily chores of hunting, chopping, grinding, scraping and pounding. But the right type of stone could be hard to find and required a high level of skill to shape.
Image: 'Mulga seed; Wardipiri near Papunya', is a painting on canvas by Peggy Nampijinpa of women grinding seed on a stone to make damper. J C Anderson collected this at Yuendumu in Central Australia in 1987.
Antiquity
'The first human movements into Australia and New Guinea took place some time before 35 000 BP [before present], probably between 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
Sea passages of a few days would have been enough to reach the Australian and New Guinea landmass from adjacent parts of the Indo-Malaysian archipelago.' - M A Smith archaeologist 1998
Image: Dreaming story told by Albert Karloan to Ronals and Catherine Berndt. Lower Murray 1940s.
String
String making has always been an important part of Aboriginal life and culture. String makers know all about the natural fibres found in their local areas and how to make string and rope. The main fibres they use come from plants, animal fur and human hair.
Image: The top section of this painting by Burur of the Lardiil group from Mornington Island describes dugong being hunted with a large net. N B Tindale and P Aitken collected this painting in 1960 during a South Australian Museum expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Yanardilyi (Cockatoo Creek)
Sections of Yanardilyi to see the detailing
Sections of Yanardilyi to see the detailing
This acrylic painting on canvas represents four main Dreamings of Yanardilyi (Cockatoo Creek). Twenty-nine Warlpiri and Anmatyerre artists worked on the canvas over three days in 1996. For these artists, the paintings contains the power and beauty of their own Dreamings. It is also a political statement about their land, which graziers occupied in the 1930s.
The Dreaming stories shown in the paintings were told by Samson Japaljarri Martin (kirda, or owener, of the Dreaming, or Jukurrpa), Paddy Japaljarri Steward (kirda) and Darby Jampijinpa Ross (kurdunhurlu or ceremonial manager).
Story 1: Wati-jarra (two men)
Two old Jungarrayi men were making kurdiji (ceremonial shields). They had a wankinpa (stone axe) and a kanti (stone knife) as tools to make the shields. They travelled to Yunnyupardi, near the gap in the Stuart Range, where they were to sing in a ceremony. The Jungarrayi men cut some trees to make shields. Then they travelled far to the east making more shields as they went. The ceremonial shields were made out of softwood from the yinirnti (beantree). Later the two men returned to Yunyupardi and began singing. Women came there from Minamina, far to the west near the Western Australian border. The men sang so that the women could dance for the initiation of young men. After the ceremonies the two men went to Yuluwurru, where they sang again. They continued north west to Wakurlpa, north of Yuendumu. At Wakirlpa the two men were frightened away by yurrampi (honey ants), and left their ceremonial shields in the rock at Mirri-jarra close to Wakurlpa. Here there are two long rock holes, side by side. With the rock bridge between them, these holes represent the handle of the shield.
Story 2: Murlu (kangaroo)
Two marlu, a mother and daughter, were at Yakurranji near Amburla Station, South east of Napperby. They travelled north west to Yuparni, south of Napperby, then onto Yulju, Yakukurlpu and Ngantampi. They finally reached Yanardilyi (Cockatoo Creek), about 25 km north east of Yuendumu. At Yanardilyi there were many marlu lying around lazily in the shade. The two travellers tried to wake up one pulka, an 'old man' marlu. they jumped around trying to wake him, but could not. The two travelled on north to a water soakage called panupanji. Many other marlu camped here. Again, mother and daughter kept going, until they were exhausted. they reached Janyinparrinya, not far from Panupanji, where they 'finished up' (stayed).
Story 3: Ngatijirri (budgerigars)
The ngatijirri came south from Parilirri to Lirrpari then on to Mannagangi, where their footprints covered the rocks. The ngatijirri then travelled to Yannganmi, where they camped around the rock holes and soakage.
Yannganmi was a large camp for the ngatijirri, who left two eggs, round quartz rocks, on the top of the hill. The ngatijirri represent the two kurdujarra (young people), who were taken west to Warlangarra for 'men's business'. The two came back to Lirrpari where they finished up (stayed). Others from Yannganmi then flew off in different directions. Some kept going west, others went far to the south west to Jurnti and then Yinirnti-warrku-warrku, on the shore of Lake Mackay. They finally reached a place near the Docker River in Western Australia. Other ngatijirri went north west and some south, spreading out.
Story 4: Pingi (black meat ants)
One pingi man from Pingirri, a small hill in the Cockatoo Creek area, came upon an emu in a dry clay pan at Ngipiri. The emu was brooding on his eggs while his wife was out hunting. After retracing his steps, the pingi man returned with the rest of his 'mob'. They walked around the emu, talking about what good food he would make and how to kill him. Finally they decided to become meat ants, which are small and not easily seen. One pingi jumped into the emu's eyes, blinding him. The others attacked the rest of the emu's body, biting him everywhere. The emu could not shake them off and was killed when the pingi hit him on the back of the neck with a big stick. They took him back east towards their home at Pingirri, plucked him as they went and throwing his feathers to the side. The emu was carried to Wanya, a small hill near Pingirri, where they cooked him and ate him. All that was left of the emu was his bare bones.
This painting was my favourite painting out of the whole Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australian Museum because I like when you look at it there are so many different Dream-time stories. The detailing of this piece is beautiful. I understand how many people did this and the amount of time. Definitely worth it though.
I enjoyed walking through Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australian Museum. I couldn't believe how many paintings, stories, artwork and tools their were to see. It was fascinating looking and every piece, and well worth my time.
Referenced: Images taken at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
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