Nyaluŋ, Dundiwuy #2 Munuŋgurr (dec)
Yolŋu Seasons
circular 28cm diameter

ID: 86-16

The print depicts the Calendar of nature.

This Knowledge depicts and teaches us the Circle of Wind of life.

We have four main Seasons Midawarr, Barra, Rarranhdharr, Dharratharra,

In Barra Season (Jan Feb, March) we have Seagull eggs (ŋurula mapu), wild geese, cycad nuts (ŋathu), wild fruits, mud-crabs; we get the big winds, rain and storms.

We also collect some bushtucker that we can find.

We all know what Season comes one after another like now April and May we have Midawarr Season, it is rich in growth and harvesting. We get more hunting when we go out for yams, goanna, turtle, barramundi, wild fruit, oysters, clams, crabs, kangaroos and many other.

In Dharratharra it is very cold season, (June-August). At night we get cold and sleep under a blanket or make a fire outside to warm ourselves. We eat and gather plenty in these months – fish, small sharks oysters,

We always look for flowers that tell us what is in season and tells us what to hunt for. The white lily in the Barra season tells us that stingray is ready and the liver is fat.

In Rarranhdharr it is very dry, the sand it hot during the day, we get plenty of bush foods like kangaroo, nuts fruits oysters, crabs fish, goanna, nuykal (kingfish) and many others, like lobsters both inland and out in the sea. Yolŋu people gather and share things with each other in tribal ways, so this cycle, it goes round and round through the years.
Printed May 2007

FMP 6R