

Djomi and Njá-barawarra Na-míbba (Hammerhead shark)
Joy depicts the story of her ancestral dreaming the Djomi in her textile work. With permission from her djunguys (cultural caretaker) she’s able to tell her story of her magnificent design.
‘This Djomi is my dreaming, I got permission by djunguys to design Djomi, to tell my story of my dreaming, for me always ask my djunguys first to put design” The Djomi dreaming is described to be a long lady spirit with fish like tales that comes from a water stream that flows out to the sea cliff of Maningrida. It is a known to be a women fertile water stream. ‘if you go there you can get pregnant, Djomi has babies, you can have babies’ Here are two Dreaming ladies– Djómi and Bábbarra. These two are sisters: one freshwater ‘mermaid’ and one saltwater one. ‘Babbarra billabong is inland, Djomi is near the saltwater’ – Joy Garlbin