Kabono (river story)

‘The freshwater birds are looking for manme (food), they’re down the river at Benembenemdi. The birds in my design are kurrubirlah, mandjangarli, barrak-barrak & ngalkordow. My dad told me about this story, he taught me how to do painting on the rock country and bark painting and hollow log. When I was 12 and 13 I started to paint freshwater birds that I saw at my country. My father painted lots of animals like kangaroo, bolong (rainbow serpent), bird, all kind of animal. He was a really good artist. This animal is from my country, place called Benembenemdi, that place is rock country with lots of sand and river.’ – Jay Jurrupula Rostron 2024.

Freshwater birds showcased in this design:

‘kurrubirlah’ – bush stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius). Some Kune speakers have a variant pronunciation ‘kurruburlah’

‘mandjangarli’ – darter, (Anhinga melanogaster novaehollandiae).

‘barrak-barrak’ – little pied cormorant (Phalacrocax melanoleucas)

‘ngalkordow’ – brolga (Antigone rubicunda)

Design printed by Publisher Textiles in Sydney NSW

Thank you to the Bininj Kunwok Language Centre for assisting Babbarra Women’s with correct spelling and definitions of the freshwater birds showcased in Jay’s design.

This design came about during a workshop at Gorrong Gorrong outstation with screen print facilitator Bobbie Rueben. Jay often depicts wildlife residing in the wetlands in her intricate designs. This is Jay’s second design to join the Babbarra collection.