Kenan Namunjdja

Kunkurra (spiral wind) and Kalawan (goanna) tracks

Kunkurra, the spiralling wind, is associated with several sites in the Kardbam clan estate. On one level, this painting can be interpreted as a depiction of the kinds of mini-cyclones common during the wet season in Arnhem Land, where the artist lives. In this painting, Kunkurra also relates specifically to a site called Bilwoyinj, nearMankorlod. ​

​At this site, two of the most important Kuninjku creation beings, a father and son known as na-korrkko, are believed to have hunted and eaten a goanna. They left someof the goanna fat behind at the site, which turned into the rock that still stands theretoday. The word Bilwoyinj, which is the name of this site, also refers to the fat of the goanna. In this work the goannas are gone but their tracks left in the sand are represented. ​​

Bilwoyinj site is also a ceremonial ground for a ceremony called Yabbaduruwa, a major ceremony owned by the Yirridja patrimoiety. The Yabbaduruwa ceremony is primarilyconcerned with initiation, land ownership and promoting the cyclical regeneration of the human and natural worlds. 

Artist

Kenan Namunjdja

Year

-

Materials

-

Size

142 x 18 cm

Edition

unique

Gallery

courtesy of aboriginal signature estrangin gallery

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