Ishmael Marika
Miyapunu
Paper Size: 70 x 84cm; Image Size: 50 x 64.8cm; Paper: Hahnemuhle

ID: 5600-24

As told by the artist; This green back turtle (Miyapunu) we always think about it. It is a significant turtle. It is in the songs of my Rirratjiŋu clan. We hunt for it by canoe or boat. When you see the head of this turtle coming out of the water to breath or to eat the Yathiny (Porpita porpita- floating colony of single cell organism similar to blue bottles but a flat disk with blue hairs coming out on the fringe)we can follow it and harpoon it.

Our ancestral songs tell of the spirit ancestors hunting the turtle Mururruma, Waŋarrawaŋarra, Batharitja, Djarraŋu hunt for tis turtle to feed their families. This is a bathala (very big) turtle and so feeds lots of family. The design on the turtle is special for the Rirratjiŋu/Djambarrpuyŋu seawater between Yirrkala and Bremer Island known as Rulyapa.