Organized by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

Dhuḏi-Djapu

The Dhuḏi-Djapu’ clan belong to the Dhuwa moiety. Major spiritual themes include Mäṉa and the Djan’kawu Sisters. Mäṉa rested at Dhuruputjpi after being speared, creating the major homeland for the Dhuḏi-Djapu’. The settlement of Dhuruputjpi is a series of billabongs on the banks of the Dhuruputjpi River. These billabongs are sacred locations for the clan. The Djan’kawu Sisters also traveled through this floodplain area in the form of brolgas (Antigone rubicunda, Australian cranes). Their footprints are visible in the mud of the floodplain.

Clan members have the last name Wirrpanda and speak the Dhuwal language. Prominent Dhuḏi-Djapu members are Australian football player David Wirrpanda, artist Mulkuṉ Wirrpanda, and painter and politician Dhukaḻ Wirrpanda. Dhäkiyarr Wirrpanda was a Dhudi-Djapu elder who speared and killed Constable Albert McColl on Woodah Island in 1933. He was sentenced to death but was acquitted. However, he disappeared after being released and was presumed murdered by associates of McColl. These events contributed to the series of conflicts known as the Caledon Bay Crisis. A memorial for Dhäkiyarr was established at the Northern Territory Supreme Court in 2003. 

The consulting curators from the Dhuḏi-Djapu’ clan for this project were Dhukaḻ Wirrpanda and Ḻiyawaḏay Wirrpanda.

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