Buwathay Munyarryun
Baliny
224 cm x 21 cm

ID: 1295-22

Baliny is the public name used by the Yolŋu for the fish Barramundi. It has other deeper names – sacred of a secret nature because of reference to the enigmatic nature of a Yirritja Creator Ancestor and the ability for the fish to be androgynous, going upstream, from salt to fresh to spawn and changing its sex. Yolŋu often depict Baliny in their art as a companion to other ancestral beings.  Baliny is strongly associated with Baraltja and Dhalinybuy. Gany’tjurr the Reef heron is a companion. It is the archetypal male Yirritja moiety hunter with stealth and grace.