Muputi

Artist Tracy Puruntatameri (1961)

Date1994

Object number00027873

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour paint, board

DimensionsImage: 325 x 465 mm
Sheet: 349 x 504 mm
Overall: 349 x 504 mm, 1 mm, 0.05 kg

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionA watercolour painting by Tracy Puruntatameri titled 'Muputi' ('Fish'). Mother's Country: Port Keats, NT Father's Country: Pukulimpi, Melville Island, NT Dreaming: Kirilima (Jungle Fowl) Tiwi people use throw nets to catch small fish to be used as live bait to catch barramundi and salmon. Other fish commonly caught in the Apsley Strait, the creeks and off the beaches include bream, catfish, rock cod, sawfish, jewfish trevally, snapper and mangrove jack and mackeral.HistoryThe Tiwi language, culture and ceremonial life is unique to Melville and Bathurst Islands. The older generation have handed down stories of contact with outsiders, especially from Malaysia and Indonesia. Records of Dutch explorers go back as early as 1644, well before Captain James Cook. The permanent settlement of Europeans to the Tiwi Islands dates back to 1895 apart from the unsuccessful British military settlement at Fort Dundas from 1824 to 1829. With the establishment of the missionaries at Bathurst Island, Tiwi people were moved to Nguiu. From the 1940's Pirlangimpi was an orphanage for Indigenous children of mixed descent. Tiwi officially regained their land in 1976 with the Tiwi Land Rights Act. Although much of Tiwi ceremonial life and law have dissipated with missionary influence over the past hundred years, the major ceremonies of Pukamani and Kulama continue to be celebrated and their importance respected. The physical country is mainly open eucalypt forest with pockets of monsoonal vine forest. The beaches are long and white interspersed with mangrove swamps which provide the rich feeding grounds for marine life including crocodiles. Melville Island has fresh water in abundance with streams and waterholes throughout the Island. The seasons are wet and dry. One hot wet and humid. The other is dry and cooler in winter.SignificanceThe Tiwi Islands of Melviile Island and Bathurst Island have a rich cultural heritage and the land from which it is born continues to inspire Tiwi artists.This intimate link of Tiwi people with clan and country gives strength to the artists designs.These designs are traditionally used to decorate ceremonial poles, spears and bark baskets, as well as the diverse elaborate markings painted on the face and body during ceremonies.