Milniyawuy
Date1998
Object number00033798
NameBark painting
MediumNatural pigments on bark
DimensionsOverall: 1575 × 615 mm, 4.9 kg
Copyright© Naminapu Maymuru
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with the assistance of Stephen Grant of the GrantPirrie Gallery
DescriptionThis bark painting represents the story of the ancestral Guwak men whose canoe capsized in the wake of a turtle. The men refused help from other sea creatures and were transformed into stars after they drowned. In the corners of the painting cross-hatching marks represent storm clouds and rain. This story is connected to the mortuary rites of the Maŋgalili clan and the Milŋiyawuy (Milky Way), where the souls of the deceased are turned into stars.
HistoryIn 1996 an illegal fishing camp was discovered at Garranali, a sacred Aboriginal area in East Arnhem Land. It instigated the local Yolŋu people to begin painting a series of barks that demonstrated the rules, philosophies and stories of their region. The end result was the production of 80 barks portraying the Saltwater Country of East Arnhem Land.
The Yolŋu people are intrinsically linked to the land and the saltwater coastline. In 1963 a Swiss mining company began plans to build a mine in their traditional lands. In opposition the Aboriginal community organised a petition that was signed on bark and sent to Parliament. The Yolŋu went to court to challenge the proposed development of the mining company and Australian government. Their claims of land ownership were dismissed and the development of the mine continued. This historic event highlighted the issue of Aboriginal land rights to the Australian public.
In 1976 the Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed in the Northern Territory, now seen as the benchmark in the recognition of Aboriginal land rights. The Yolŋu were decreed the legal owners of northeast Arnhem Land, however their ownership did not extend into the Saltwater coastline. Only in July 2008 have Indigenous rights and use of the Arnhem Land coast been given precedence over commercial interests and fishing. The issue of Aboriginal land rights, customs and laws continues to be contentious in the Australian legal system and wider community.SignificanceThis bark painting represents an important story of the Maŋgalili clan in the saltwater homeland of the Djarrakpi. It is one of 80 barks painted for the Saltwater Project in an effort to affirm Indigenous land ownership, laws and rights.
