Hunting dhangal (hunting dugong)

Artist Brian Robinson (1973)

Date2011

Object number00025979

NameLinocut

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 805 x 260 mm
Image: 580 x 530 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis linocut by Brian Robinson titled 'Hunting dhangal' features a scene from the seasonal hunting of dugong. Shown is one of the traditional methods used in a dugong hunt, an exacting and dangerous task undertaken with care and diligence. Here Robinson depicts the dugong swimming in shallow water at night under a sky full of stars while a fisherman standing on a tower known as naath, watches and aims with his spear. HistoryArtists statement: "The word dugong derives from the Malay word duyung, which means 'lady of the sea'. The dugong, the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal, is a medium-sized marine animal and is one of four living species of Sirenia, which also includes species of manatees, It is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters. The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its rich meat, fine oil and ivory tusks and ribs, which are used for carving and weapons. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modern range, particularly northern Australia where the animal is harpooned with a wap as they feed on seagrass in shallow water. Dugong hunting was, and is an exacting and dangerous task undertaken with great care and diligence, including the use of magic. In the Torres Strait, the dugong is known locally as 'dhangal' [Kala Lagow Ya language] or deger [Meriam Mer language]. Dhangal are found mainly in the shallower seas in the western part of Torres Strait. They are hunted from dinghies [or canoes traditionally] or harpooned from wooden platforms known as naath, which are built above their feeding grounds of seagrass. At low tide, hunters could see where the dhangal had been feeding by marks left in the soft silt or mud. They would build the wooden platform over this spot after which one hunter would climb onto the platform and wait until night, his harpoon tied to the platform, and attached to a neatly coiled length of rope, some 350 meters long. A special incantation was usually put on the rope, which was aided in the lulling of the animal as well as charms that were attached to the platform. At night, during high tide when the dugong surfaced for air they were generally harpooned by the hunter. If the animal was struck, shells on the wap would rattle and the feathers that decorated it would fan forward. When the animal tried to escape the rope attached to the harpoon would begin to uncoil. The hunter would jump off the platform, take hold of the rope and wait until the dhangal had weakened itself before tying the rope around its tail and slowly dragging it ashore [with the assistance of other hunters who too have been waiting in nearby canoes]. " - Brian Robinson triebSTUDIO SignificanceBrian Robinson's linocut offers an opportunity to better understand the dugong - its impact on and position in indigenous communities and its current endangered position in the world's oceans.