Ngalyod devours a hunter
Jimmy Njiminjuma1979
Museums Victoria
Carlton, Australia
Ngalyod, the rainbow serpent, is one of the most important ancestor spirits of western Arnhem Land and lives in the area south and east of Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli). Images of Ngalyod appear in rock paintings of the region that are over 20,000 years old. Ngalyod is much feared and can destroy anyone who breaks the law. Children who wander away from the camp are likely to be taken by its spirit that lives waterholes and rock shelters. Ngalyod takes a variety of forms and only Kuninjku men of senior ceremonial status can paint this image. While stylistic variations of Ngalyod may occur, rules are adhered to in painting this and other images. Artists can only paint the ancestors to which they have inherited rights through their father. Ancestors like Ngalyod must be painted ‘accurately’ and exhibit a range of figurative elements. For example, the rainbow serpent may be painted with elements of a kangaroo such as the ears or head. The use of cross-hatching or rarrk indicates the sacred or ceremonial associations of the ancestor and colours must be applied in the correct order. Ngalyod devours a hunter was painted by Njiminjuma at Mumeka outstation in December 1979. It typifies the style of Kuninjku painters from Mumeka who use a complex of intricate cross-hatching patterning or rarrk to infill the entire body of the ancestor. This painting depicts the story of a hunter who had speared a kangaroo that was in fact the rainbow serpent. Changing back into the original form of the serpent, Ngalyod devours the hunter. The head and a leg joint are shown on the right.
- Title: Ngalyod devours a hunter
- Creator Lifespan: 1947 - 2004
- Creator Nationality: Indigenous Australian
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Birth Place: Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
- Date Created: 1979
- Physical Dimensions: w980 x h1500 x d100 mm
- Type: Object
- Rights: Copyright: Jimmy Njiminjuma. Source: Museum Victoria. Indigenous or Cultural Rights apply, Non-Exclusive Licence: Source: Museum Victoria / Artist: Jimmy Njiminjuma. Indigenous or Cultural Rights apply
- External Link: Museum Victoria
- Medium: Natural pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus tetradonta)
- Subject: Aboriginal peoples (Australians), Aboriginal art, Hunters, hunting
- Artist Information: Jimmy Njiminjuma (also spelled as Ngiminjuma or Njiminuma), born 1947, died 2004, Kunwinjku language, Kurulk clan, Arnhem Land. Njiminjuma belonged to a family of renowned Kunwinjku painters and artisans associated with the outstations of Mumeka and later Kurrurrurldul. Their country is the Mann and Liverpool Rivers area of Arnhem Land to the west of Maningrida and lived his entire life there. His father was Anchor Kulunba, the last craftsman of the distinctive conical fish trap called mandjabu that he turned into an art form by the 1980s. When Njiminjuma joined his family at Mumeka outstation established by his father in the 1970s he emerged as a notable bark painter and sold his works through the arts centre at Maningrida. With his father Njiminjuma would have an enormous influence on and teach his younger brothers to paint, including the now internationally acclaimed bark painter John Mawurndjul and James Iyuna. Mawurndjul in the 1970s in fact would at times complete Njiminjuma’s paintings. Njiminjuma’s career as a bark painter spanned some 30 year until his death a few years ago. Common themes he painted were Njaljod, the rainbow serpent, the Yawk Yawk or mermaids, and Wakwak the crow. He is represented in many of the major public collections in Australia and overseas.
- Artist: Jimmy Njiminjuma
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