On this bark Ezariah has painted Yingarna, the ancestor whose journey resulted in the creation of the bininj or Aboriginal people. Yingarna emerged from the Arafura Sea and journeyed inland. She had a large stomach containing many children and wore a headband from which many dilly bags were hung. Both the children and dilly bags are depicted in this image. Each dilly bag was full of yams. She met a spirit man called Wurrakkak who came from the sea in the west. After they parted she left spirit children there. Yingarna travelled to Coopers Creek and then on to the Alligator Rivers. As she travelled she left spirit children in particular places and instructed them to speak specific languages. She planted the yams from her dilly bags and told the spirit children they were good to eat. The spirit children became the bininj that have populated Arnhem Land for thousands of years.

Yingarna kumdolkkang kore kurrulabeh kore Kakbi (north) Kumhrey kore manberrk benhkani wurdwurd benehkurrmi kore kunred bedberre. Benwong benyikurrmeng Kunnguya Kunwok dja Kunngey bedberre dja kunred. Kumhwam manberrk bimarnebebmeng Wurrakkak nawu kumdolkkang kurrulabeh yerrih. Benewokdanj bimarneyimeng ngare ngayikan Nimbuwa wanjh biyikang Nimbuwa dja ngalengman kumwam manih yimowong wanjh balwam Walem djarreh. Bu kumwam kakbibeh benhkurrmi wurdwurd dja manme benbukkani manbu manmak karringun, dja manbu manwarre minj karringun benmarneyimeng. Manbu clan makka danjbik bu ngarriyime Kunnguya, Kunmokurrkurr, dja Yikurrumu. Yiman konhda kunred kore karrihni Kunbarllanjnja (Gunbalanya) kubolkmandjurlngunj Mandurlngunj kunred.

Size 53 x 86 cm | Medium Bark | Catalogue # 4773-16 | Year 2016

Artist  Ezariah Kelly

Ezariah Kelly is one of Injalak’s most exciting emerging artists. His work has featured in group exhibitions in Darwin, Melbourne and Perth. His style characterised by bold lines, a strong sense of design and high visual impact. He is a keen hunter and fisherman with an eye for environmental phenomena, and his work often features inventive themes from the natural world and vignettes of everyday traditional life. Recently he has begun working exclusively in natural ochres, and his compositions and colours have taken on a more delicate aesthetic with fine figures and lighter colours.  

further details

Size 53 x 86 cm
Medium  Bark
Catalogue # 4773-16
Year 2016