Gumatj
The Gumatj are a large clan, with homeland communities at Gunyuŋarra, Birany’birany, Dhanaya, Bawaka, Maṯamaṯa and Yinyikay.
It is said that the Gumatj clan language, Dhuwalandja is the tongue of flame. Many of their paintings relate to gurtha, the sacred fire spread on the back of Bäru,
Fire was first used in ceremony by the Gumatj clan at Ŋalarrwuy. Important ancestral totemic animals such as the bandicoot, red kangaroo, hawk and spider spread the fire to other places.
Other important ancestral beings include Ganbulapula (also known as Burrulupurrulu or Muryana), an ancestral hunter, and Wirrili, the yellow ochre ancestor. The use of yellow ochre is linked to the Ganiny, Wirrili’s ceremonial digging stick.
Gumatj clan members use the family names of Yunupiŋu, Munuŋgurritj and Burarrwaŋa.
Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu was an artist and political leader who established Gunyuŋarra and contributed to the Yirritja side of the Yirrkala Church Panels.
Muŋgurrawuy was the father of Galarrwuy, a former Northern Land Council chair and land rights activist, and Mandawuy, an education activist and founder of the band Yothu Yindi.
Mungurrawuy’s daughters include the prominent artists Gulumbu, Nyapanyapa, Barrapu and Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu.
Nanakiya Mununggurritj and Djalalingba Yunupingu are founders of Dhimurru Land Management Corporation and pioneers of indigenous land care.
Timmy Murmurrga Burarrwanga runs a business providing cultural experiences for tourists and he is the current chairman of the Yirrkala Dhanbul Aboriginal Corporation.
The consulting curator from the Gumatj clan for this project was Yälpi Yunupiŋu
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