Anniebell Marrngamarrnga (born 1979)

YAWKYAWK, 2007

woven pandanus fibre dyed with natural pigments

177.0 x 64.5 cm

Maningrida Arts and Culture, Maningrida (cat. 1933-07)
William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne acquired from the above in July 2007

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Maningrida Arts and Culture, Maningrida, Northern Territory which states in part: ‘ Yawkyawk is a word in the Kunwinjku/Kunwok language of Western Arnhem Land meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’. The different groups of Kunwinjku people (one of the Eastern dialect groups call themselves Kuninjku) each have Yawkyawk mythologies, which relate to specific locations in clan estates. These mythologies are represented in bark paintings and sculptures of Yawkyawk beings. There are also a few examples of rock art images of these beings.

The female water spirits Yawkyawk or Ngalkzmburriyaymi are perhaps the most enigmatic of mythological themes. Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, they exist as spiritual beings living in freshwater streams and rock pools, particularly those in the stone country. The spirit Yawkyawk is usually described and depicted with the tail of a fish. Thus, the Kuninjku people sometimes call them ngalberddjenj which literally means ‘the young woman who has a tail like a fish’. They have long hair, which is associated with trailing blooms of green algae (called man-bak in Kuninjku). At times they leave their aquatic homes to walk about on dry land, particularly at night.

Text by Murray Garde and Christiane Keller’

This item is located at our Melbourne Gallery