The painting tells how the people learned the Banumbirr (Morning Star) dance. A man called Gurulungun was carrying a large baler shell on his head between the mainland and Man Island when he was startled to hear music from the island. The music was being made by Gongbirima, the clapstick man, and Dulanganda, the didgeridoo player. They saw Gurulungun and called out to him. When he came, they taught him the dancing and singing for the Banumbirr ceremony. When he left, they instructed him to teach all the people the dance and song. In the painting, people are holding on to the vines of the yam plant, which double as the rays of the Morning Star. Yams are a physical manifestation of the Moring Star. Both are sacred. (Carly Lane 14/07/2016)

(Louis Allen) This is one of the most famous stories of the aborigines, painted by one of the greatest artists, now dead. The aborigines believe that the Morning Star is kept by two women who release it just before dawn. They let it climb up into the sky, holding it by a long string which they let out, finally pu,fling it back and imprisoning it in a cave until the next morning. This bark tells the version of the story sung and danced by the Riradjingu
clan. The painting tells how the people learned the Banumbirr dance. A man called Gurulungun was carrying a large baler shell on his head between the mainland and Man Island when he was startled to hear musië from the island. He threw the shell into the water and up came the huge rock which is still there today and is represented in the picture. The music was being made by Gongbirima, the clap stick man, and Dulanganda, the didgeridoo player. They saw Gurulungun and called out to him. When he came, they taught him the dancing and singing for the Morning Star ceremony. When he left, they instructed him to teach all the people the dance and song. Three days later, he returned to his two wives and their mother, who were preparing to eat red berries from the bush. Their two dogs are shown with them. In the section above the main panel are shown a great many spirits, into which the Riradjingu people believe they change after death.
Collected: Dr. Stuart Scougall, ca 1959. 62—1/2” x 5—1/2”
Exhibited: Qantas: New York, Tokyo, Auckland, San Francisco, Montreal, Teheran,
1961—63. Cat.
Field: Field Museum, Chicago. 1972. Cat. 131