Ganalpingu Cosmology

Artist John Bulun Bulun (1946-2010)

Datec 1994

Object number00027629

NamePainting

MediumOchre, canvas

Dimensions2720 x 1290 mm, 2 mm, 1.6 kg
Display Dimensions: 2320 x 1192 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Collections

Under Southern Skies - navigation and voyaging

Terms

DescriptionA painting by John Bulun Bulun relating to the Marayarr Murrukundja welcoming ceremony of the Ganalbingu people of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia. The Marayarr Murrukundj is what the Ganalbingu people of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia, offered Makassan sailors from Indonesia when they came each year with the Lunggurruma (north-west trade) wind, pursuing a centuries-old trade. John Bulun Bulun has painted this important series on canvas and bark to explain how the Marayarr Murrukundja offered friendship, explained who made the land and who owned it, how to travel safely and what to eat to visitors to the land.HistoryThis painting, 'Ganalpingu Cosmology', can be read as a map of Ganalbingu land. John Bulun Bulun has incorporated all the elements that are important to be passed on to a stranger visiting the area. Unlike European maps that usually only refer to the features of the physical landscape, this map also incorporates the travels of the dreaming ancestors as the land was formed as well as how the Makassans are incorporated into Ganalbingu society. It explains to the Makassans the spiritual relationship between ancestors, land and the land owners. John Bulun Bulun refers to the painting as a passport, the ceremony as a visa to be renew with each visit. In the top left hand corner of the painting, Gumumungumuk and the landowners are on the site where the welcoming ceremony takes place. The ceremony aims to reaffirm friendly relationships with different groups, such as in this case the Macassans. Painted on top right are Makassan trade goods, guns, knives and tobacco. John Bulun Bulun talks of these objects as part of the dreaming landscape of his clan because during the welcoming ceremony, the Makassans become part of the Ganalbingu world. The top features a depiction of the north-west trade wind, the Lunggurruma, that brings the Macassan Traders from Sulawesi. A Djarrawitjibi body painting design is featured at centre right. Beneath it is a billabong surrounded by various frogs, the lunggurruma and the Iunggurruma tree. The lower right corner features a body painting design that is used by the Ganalpingu men to represent a log across a river. Another body painting design with flying fox droppings is featured at the lower left. The image the magpie goose icon is featured with two Wandjirr sand sculptures made during the Bukubot mortuary ceremony. An image of the Wandjirr is featured beneath the sculptures, as does a spear used in the turtle dance. The Wandjirr are associated with the long necked turtle. Above the magpie goose is a beehive shaped paperbark shelter, called the Ngorlorr or Mirdiga.SignificanceThe land of John Bulun Bulun, a respected elder and acclaimed artist, lies along the coast of Arnhem Land. With it's river mouths it has provided the entry point for many strangers. For hundreds of years the Ganalbingu people annually met Indonesian traders with a ceremony, the Marayarr Murrukundja.

This ceremony isused to welcome strangers to Ganalbingu land - it extended friendship to the unknown, told them who owned the land and how it was made, how to travel safely and what foods to eat.
This painting is one of a series of 12 works about the Marayarr Murrukundja ceremony by John Bulun Bulun who painted them for an audience who has not been welcomed to Aboriginal land in the hope that they will 'learn a little Aboriginal history'.