Datjuluma Guyula
Marawili Tree
105 x 46 cm

ID: 4745-24

This design is for the Maŋgalili clan, it tells the story about objects at Djarrakpi homeland. The tree is the sacred Marawili Tree upon which the Guwak (Koel Cuckoo ancestors) alighted called Wuluŋgultji. The dharpa(tree) Wuluŋgultji used to be a ceremonial shade, where people used to come and sit around that tree.Different people came to share and gather ideas in the olden days. The dharpa represents the life as for the people. The dharpa used to be Walŋa (alive) and now it has fallen down and has made a hollow in the middle of the log. The possum (Marrŋu) tells a story of collecting wild dhurrpinḏama (Buchanania obovata-green plum) to eat in the log. Dashes are the trackmarks of the possums (Marrŋu), the lines represent the raki (possum fur), dots show the stars of the Milky Way to which the Maŋgalili spirit ascends via the raki..