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| Artist: |
Namiyal Bopirri |
| Title: |
Crow Andiditj (Wagilag Story) |
| Price: |
$550.00 in Australia
$500.00 for Export. |
| PR516, 1998 |
| Linocut, edition size 99 |
| 49 x 60 cm |
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A long time ago in the Dreamtime, a man named Marrngu, the Possum man, and his two wives, Barkuma (native cats) lived at a place called Guruwana. One day the Barkuma sisters went out to collect shells from the mangroves. Marrngu, who was going to marry them, stayed at the camp. They went into the mangroves and collected shells then came back to their camp to cook. But the sisters despised Marrngu and they made the fire extra large. As they cooked the shells they plotted what they were going to do to Marrngu. That night their husband came and sat near the fire to warm himself and to reconcile with the sisters as they refused to sleep with him. Then as Marrngu was warming himself near the fire, the sisters threw the hot coals and ashes all over him, shrivelling his arms and legs. Marrngu then turned into a possum and ran away screaming from pain. That is why nowadays Marrngu, the ringtail possum has pink skin on its body as a result of burns from the hot coals. The Crowman, Wak had made a fishtrap (Gorl) so they could have fish. Here the fish are caught, eaten and the fishbones are put aside. When Marrngu ran away from the Barkuma sisters he came up to the Crowman and told him what happened, how the sisters had humiliated him and then tried to kill him. He warned the Crowman what he was going to do to the sisters. Then Marrngu went away, gathered his clansmen and returned to kill the women. The miringu (army) gathered then they went in and speared the sisters to death. Their spirit entered the body of the catfish, Wedu in the nearby river. When the Wak heard about the women's death he got upset and went to Warang the Glider Possum man. The Wak wanted to arrange a 'Hollow Log' ceremony for the dead women. After preparing the hollow log coffin they collected all the catfish bones and placed them into a Dindin (paperbark basket), they would later put the catfish bones into the Hollow Log. To do this they painted the Hollow Log and had a big Bunggul (mortuary rite). They placed the catfish bones (the two sisters' bones) into the coffin, then the Wak came and took it away and flew into the heavens. That Hollow Log coffin can now be seen in the sky as the Milky Way. |
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| Delivery Costs for this item |
| Australia |
$22 |
| North America |
$55 |
| Europe |
$55 |
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