Land, cut criss-cross patterns into his flesh, and these are used today in ceremony and also as designs on the bark paintings from this area.
Until recently, the artists used natural red and yellow ochres, white kaolin or pipeclay and black manganese or charcoal. These colours are applied to sheets of bark which have been cured and straightened over a fire.
Bark painting was once practised by many Aboriginal groups, but since the invasion the tradition has lapsed in most parts of Australia. Today the most vibrant expression is in Arnhem Land. There are different styles of painting here. The artists of west Arnhem Land, which is centred around Oenpelli, the Liverpool and Alligator rivers and the Croker and Goulburn islands, create works which are related to the rock paintings which abound in the area, some fine examples of which may be seen in the cave galleries found in Kakadu National Park. There are two main types of painting, both of which are figurative. One is the so-called ‘X-ray style’, in which the ritually significant internal organs of various animal species are depicted. The second style is of spirits such as the stick-like mimi spirits.
Central Arnhem Land stretches from east of the Liverpool river and includes the settlements of Maningrida, Ramingining and the island of Milingimbi. Here the paintings are divided into a number of panels, much in the style of a storyboard or comic strip. The most common themes are episodes from the song cycles of the Wawilak sisters and Dhanggawul. North-eastern Arnhem Land includes the area around Yirrkala and a number of islands, including Galiwinku (Elcho Island), and their styles are characterized by tight geometric compositions and crosshatched patterns of great intricacy.
The Tiwi people live on Bathurst and Melville Islands off the northwest coast of Darwin and most Tiwi art is concerned with the Pukamani funeral ceremonies, the elaborate and lengthy ceremonies which involve the erection of carved posts similar to totem poles (see Pukamani burial poles). Paintings are usually non-figurative, but sculpture is important here owing to the use of sculpture in the funeral ceremonies. The sculptures are usually of Purukupali, his partner Bima and Tokumbimi the bird, and the accompanying myth relates how death came to the Tiwi. See Curlews; Mudungkala; Pukamani funeral ceremonies.
See also Bark huts and shelters; Ground paintings; Papunya Tula art.
Bark huts and shelters Bark huts and shelters were perhaps the most easily erected dwellings of Aboriginal people. Depending on the environment, dwellings could be either simple constructions of sheets of bark propped up on a framework; substantial stone houses, as in chilly Victoria; sturdy miyas (or miyu miyas), sturdy dwellings constructed of boughs and leaves in an igloo shape, as in Western Australia; or a bark or palm frond hut built on a raised platform to escape the floods of the rainy season in tropical Australia.
There is a Dreamtime story from the Wik Munggan people about the Bush-nut husband and wife who constructed one of the first, if not the first hut when the rainy season caught them in the open. Mai Maityi (Bush-nut) husband and wife travelled upriver, hunting and gathering as they went along. The stormy season came on them and they quickly began to cut sheets of tea-tree bark and lay them on the ground. After this, they cut stakes and placed them in the ground in a circle and tied their tops together. After this, they tied them all around and covered the framework with the sheets of bark. They lit a fire inside and took in their food. The rains came, but they were dry and snug inside.
Barra See Monsoon.
Barrier Reef The Barrier Reef, lying off the northern coast of Queensland, is one of the wonders of the world. The Aboriginal people who live along the coast have passed down stories about when the line of the Barrier Reef was the shore line and when the waters arose.
In the past a man, Gunya, and his two wives were travelling by canoe. They stopped to fish and caught a fish which was taboo. This resulted in a tidal wave arising and rushing towards them. Gunya had a magic woomera or spear thrower, an instrument which gives the spear added impetus, called Balur and this warned them of the danger. Gunya placed the magic woomera upright in the prow of his canoe and it calmed the seas enough for them to reach the shore. They hurried towards the mountains and the seas followed them. They reached the top of a mountain and Gunya asked his wives to build a fire and heat some large boulders. They rolled the hot stones down at the advancing sea. It stopped there, but never returned to its original home.
Barrukill See Hydra.
Bar-wool See Yarra river and Port Phillip.
Baskets and bags Aborigines’ baskets are important containers. Although they are often called dilly bags, they are more like baskets than bags, in that they are semi-rigid, unlike the string bags which are also made. Small baskets are used by men to carry sacred objects and in Aboriginal mythology they are used for such things as the storing of winds or water. Bags were also made from kangaroo skins and were used for storing water. In some stories it is the piercing of a skin bag which results in floods.
There is a central Australia myth about two brothers, one who was prudent and made provision for the future by making a kangaroo skin bag and filling it with water, and the other who did not. The prudent brother refused to share his water with the other when a drought came. He left his bag and went off to hunt. The other brother, maddened by thirst, seized the bag greedily and spilt the water. It gushed out across the sand. The prudent brother saw what was happening and rushed back to save what water he could, but he was too late. The water continued gushing out and filled the hollows and a depression which became part of the sea. Both brothers were drowned in the flood. The birds became alarmed at the spreading flood and attempted to build a dam. They used the roots of a kurrajong tree and this tree became known as the ‘water tree’. In times of drought, its roots hold water longer than other trees and can be used as an emergency water supply.
See also Pukamani funeral ceremonies.
Bathurst Island See Tiwi people.
Beehive The Beehive constellation was Coomartoorung, the smoke of the fire of Yuree and Wanjel (Castor and Pollux), two hunters who pursued, caught and then cooked Purra the kangaroo (the star Capella). When the Beehive disappeared from the sky, autumn had begun.
See also Two Brothers.
Bellin-Bellin Bellin-Bellin the crow is a moiety deity, or ancestor, the opposite to Bunjil the eaglehawk. There are many stories of their rivalry. Eaglehawk is a much more sober bird and Crow is renowned for his cunning – though one must be aware from which side the information is coming. A person belonging to the Eaglehawk moiety would tell stories in which Crow would be seen in a bad light and vice versa.
See also Bunjil; Crow; Eaglehawk and Crow.
Bennell, Eddie (?-1992) The late Eddie Bennell was a Nyungar story-teller from Brookton in the south west who left only a few stories behind. His legacy was seen in Perth when his opera My Personal Dreaming was staged in 1993.
Bennett’s Brook Bennett’s Brook is a stream near Perth, Western Australia, which is sacred to the Wagyal or rainbow snake. It is an important sacred place to many Nyungar people.
See also Bropho, Robert.
Berak, William William Berak was an elder of the Koori people of Victoria. He lived in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Through his efforts many of the traditions of the Koori people
