Muluymuluy Wirrpanda
Gumbu’
Image Size: 65.9 x 50.4cm; Paper Size: 85.7 x 69.2cm; Paper Hahnemuhle

ID: 4561-23

In the artist’s words:

‘After wet season when everything is green the Gumbu’ comes. It is a white fruit.
We go and collect the fruits and eat it.’

Below is the Yolŋu Dictionary definition for Gumbu’

Meaning: shrub – especially its small, soft, edible fruit. White Berry Bush. An abbreviation of gumbu’ is: buḻurruka’. A synonym of gumbu’ is: dhaŋarr, räga.

Language notes: D
Moiety: Dhuwa
Part of speech: n

Rirratjiŋu Ethnobotany  Flueggea virosa ‘White Currant’ A small rounded shrub which occurs in monsoon vine forests and open forests along drainage lines. The white globular fruit are eaten when ripe. They are sweet and much sought after. Fruiting of the species signifies the end of the Wet Season and the beginning of the dry, and also that the Parrot Fish are ready to be hunted. Small spears are made from the springy straight stems of this plant.