The sister and the cockatoo totem
BOPANI: artist
No image available
This poainting depicts a portion of the Wawilak Myth, one of the great myths of the aboriginal peoples. At the centre is shown one of the Wawilak sisters who travelled across Arnhem Land. The two sisters carried their yam sticks and named the plant and animal life and these became totems of the dua moiety. In the centre of the bark is shown a cockatoo totem and at the right hand side a Wawilak yam stick. The horizontal bars represent the streams running into the sacred Mirramina lagoon, the home of Yulungurr, the great snake. The hatched background represents the runoff from the rain caused by Yulungurr. The painting is from the Dua Narra ceremony. Bopani belongs to the Liyagalawumirri mala, dua moiety.
Title
The sister and the cockatoo totem
Artist/Maker and role
BOPANI: artist
Medium
ochres on eucalyptus bark
Measurements
63.7 x 35cm
Credit line
Purchased through the Western Australian Government, 1988
The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia
Accession number
1988/0529