Mankulurrudj (Sand Palm) Design by Don Namundja on cotton shops

Hand screen printed on 100% cotton (140 cm wide).
The base cloth is violet printed with black and white ink.

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All our fabrics are designed and hand-printed by our members (Aboriginal artists) in our workshop in Gunbalanya in West Arnhem Land, NT, Australia. The designers are paid a royalty for every metre printed.

The artist: Don shops Namundja
Don is one of our senior artists and has a distinctive, painterly style that evokes the ancient rock art paintings of his ancestors.

The design:
Mankulurrudj (SandPalm) 2012
The artist has depicted a Mimih spirit gathering mankulurrudj (Livistona humilis or sand palm and karrbarda (Dioscorea transversa or long yam), and fishing for namardaka (Nilosilurus spp, eel-tailed catfish). The mankulurrudj leaves are used to make bush string and the growing heart of the palm is eaten. The karrbarda is eaten and is also the subject of a song cycle still performed in Gunbalanya.
According to the Kunwinjku people of West Arnhem Land, Mimih spirits were the original spirit beings who taught Aboriginal people many of the skills they needed to survive in the bush. They also taught aspects of dance and ceremony, such as the Karrbarda dance.
The Mimih spirit carries a dilly bag and a traditional water carrier made from the base of a yirrkiyirrki (Carpentaria acuminata) palm frond. Ngalyod, the Rainbow Serpent, lies nearby.