Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra
Buyku
Image Size: 48 x 77cm; Paper Size: 69 x 104cm; Hahnemuhle

ID: 4529-25

As told by the artist:

This is the fishtrap Buyku. It is important for my clan, the Dhalwaŋu. We put it in the freshwater to catch Baypiŋa, the Saratoga fish. 

As written in the 2022 publication Maḏayin:

This work represents the union of different groups within the Dhaḻwaŋu clan. They are joined through the ancestral cycle of fishtrap ceremonies. The events are ceremonial and spiritual as well as social and educational. According to Djirrirra, the diamond design depicts the waters around Gangan. The grid that encases these diamonds adds a metaphorical layer to the design. These lines call back to the structure of a traditional fish trap made with rangan (paperbark) and wooden stakes. This combination of location and tradition marks the Buyku (fish trap area) that belongs to the Dhaḻwaŋu and allied clans. The people of the Dhaḻwaŋu and allied clans identify with the ancestral hunter Gany’tjurr (heron) while they fish baypinŋa (Scleropages jardini, spotted saratoga).