Kayimwagakimi Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara: Comb, Country and Design – Michelle Woody Minnapinni

You know back parlingarri (old days), our ancestors used to go on long journey out on Country – hunting, gathering food and camping out. Also, back in the day they used to paint jilamara (ochre design) on their bodies for ceremony and yoyi (dance). My paintings are about thinking back on these ancestors and all Tiwi people still living today.

Kayimwagakimi

The kayimwagakimi, or pwoja comb for short, is a carved ironwood comb used to paint dots in a straight line. The old people used this. They used it to paint the body for Pukumani (mourning) and Kulama (coming of age) ceremony. They used this tool instead of brush. The old people did not use brush, they used only the pwoja comb and that stick from the palm tree – they make the end of it soft to put on the ochre colours. Parlingarri old people used to paint up with these tools to disguise themselves from the spirit of the deceased and to show their family totem for ceremony, through dance, song-line and body painting. Now I use this comb for painting Country on bark and canvas, still using ochre colours from Country to make these works.

Murrakupupuni

I like to go out on Country with family – I grew up with wulimawi (old people) at Pirlangimpi and Munupi Country (western side of Melivlle Island) and I now live in Milikapiti, Wulirankuwu. Country is important to me because it makes me think of the old people, when I go out I still feel their spirits. Whenever we go out, we call out to these ancestors, us Tiwi mob. We let them know that we are there and that they are guiding us. We still do that today. Anyone of our ancestors who has had a Pukumani ceremony, we believe they are at rest out of the Country of their family. Country is so important to us Tiwi people – it is tied up with family, ceremonies, song-lines and how all those things connect. The paintings I make are about all these things – Country, body painting with the pwoja comb and the ceremonies that our mob have danced for thousands of years. It is the story of how it all connects – song-line, dance, body and Country.

Jilamara

The jilamara (ochre design) in my paintings represents many parts of our Country on the islands – tingata (sand/beach), winga (salt water) and makatinga (running fresh water). This also relates to our creation story. Murtankala was an old lady that came up from under the earth when everything was all dark. She created light for her children with yikwani (fire). She crawled around and made that big creek between the two Tiwi Islands (Bathurst and Melville) with her body crawling around in the sand. This story is really important because it is about how body and Country connects, we need to pass this knowledge onto the next generation. This exhibition at Outstation Gallery shows my recent ochre paintings that tell this story of our Tiwi people. Kayimwagakimi (comb) Murrakupupuni (Country) and Jilamara (ochre designs) are big parts of this story.

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Michelle Woody Minnapinni