Clan
Gupa-Djapu’
Songline
Mäṉa | The Shark
"The place called Wäṉḏawuy belongs only to the Djapu’ clan. The patterns in our paintings tell the story of Mäṉa, the ancestral shark that traveled inland from a place called Dharrwar Binyanpi in Djambarrpuyŋu Country. He traveled inland because he had been speared with a barbed spear by a spirit man named Ganbulapula. As Mäṉa went on his journey, traveling from place to place, he named all of the estates of the Dhuwa people. At Djätjiwuy he rested, because he was tired from the spear wound. This gave him the energy to keep going, but soon Mäṉa grew weak. Yet still he traveled, stopping at Dhikuwuy and then at Makarr Djambarrpuyŋu, until he reached Wäṉḏawuy."
– WÄKA MUNUŊGURR
More Info
Mäṉa (the ancestral shark) resides at the artist’s freshwater homeland at Wäṉḏawuy. This is represented by the sacred Djapu' clan design for freshwater, the squares of cross hatching. Mäṉa is facing the entrance to his underground system of waterways. Meŋa has shown the different “levels” of freshwater by the bands of alternating colors.
A similar design in the lower section of the painting represents the shades erected for fishing. In the river systems at Wäṉḏawuy, catfish are caught with scoop nets. This also represents part of a songline involving the unsuccessful netting of the ancestral shark during the Waŋarr (Ancestral Times). The shark’s thrashing in the net is a metaphor for the release of the Djapu' soul during mortuary rites.
– Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre
Additional Information
Decade
1996
Medium
Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark
Dimensions (IN)
95 ¾ x 28
Dimensions (CM)
243 x 71
Credit
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997. 1996.0035.010.
Narrative
Gupa-Djapu’
The Gupa-Djapu’ clan is a Dhuwa clan. The most important spiritual themes of the Gupa-Djapu’...
Songline
Mäṉa | The Shark
Ancestral sharks, or mäṉa, play an important role in the songlines of several Dhuwa moiety...
Location
1990s
Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre began the 1990s in a phase of rebuilding. By the end of...
About The Artist(s)
Clan
Gupa-Djapu’
Artist Dates
Born 1959
Meŋa Munuŋgurr
Meŋa Munuŋgurr is the son of Djutjatjutja Munuŋgurr. He is a renowned song man and ceremonial leader for the Djapu’ clan based at Wäṉḏawuy homeland. Although not a prolific artist, he participated in both the 1996 John W. Kluge Commission and the 2017–19 Kluge-Ruhe Maḏayin Commission.
Collections Represented
Australian National Maritime Museum
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia