Djambawa Marawili AM
Garraŋali
89 x 33cm

ID: 1081-24

Djambawa explains the elements of his painting as themes of fire and water and describes the ancestral events in which Bäru, the crocodile, plays a central role. The open ended strings of diamonds marks the classic miny’tji of the saltwater estate of Yathikpa. Here Bäru the ancestral crocodile, carrying and being burnt by the Ancestral fire crossed the beach from Garraŋali and entered the saltwater. Bäru decided after being soothed of his burns that he would stay in these waters. His sacred powers in line with that of the fire imbues the water there today. Crocodiles generally remain in the water and stay away from fire even today. The scarring on their bodies recalling those earlier burns. So Garraŋali is the Madarrpa clans crocodile nest. The Madarrpa call themselves of Bäru. Bäru leaves the beaches of Yathikpa to go up stream to the inland site of Garraŋali. Freshwater wells rise from the black soil plains that sustain an oasis like jungle. King tides will reach this far creating a sacred fertile and brackish mix. This is where Bäru makes its nest. It is these waters at Garraŋali that contain the Madarrpa soul. This powerful and dangerous place is affected by springs of freshwater and tidal surge from the northern coast of Blue Mud Bay – a place where the two waters mix to become a fertile one. Ancestral Fires came through this area imbued with the powers of Baru the Ancestral Crocodile – power totem for the Madarrpa clan. Manifest as the crocodile the centre of the work is the course of Garraŋali, the top of the painting depicts the deeper waters of Yathikpa and beyond. The roundrels the sacred springs, the nests. This painting was first exhibited in Russia for the 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art in 2009.