Organized by the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

Nänyin Maymuru | Sacred Object and Freshwater Designs

Nänyin Maymuru

Sacred Object and Freshwater Designs, c.1963

Raŋga ga Rapiny Miny’tji

Clan

Maŋgalili

More Info

In Raŋga ga Rapiny Miny’tji | Sacred Object and Freshwater Designs (1963), the central figure is incorporated or contained within the clan designs. The shape evokes two bathi with hints of other referents—the yoku and the sea monster associated with mortuary rituals, which we will encounter later on in Maŋgalili saltwater paintings. The dillybags that contain yoku corms are analogous to ancestral wombs containing spirit children. The paintings also reference Ŋuykal (the Kingfish ancestor), who appears in the other three paintings of Wayawupuy.


– Howard Morphy

Additional Information

Decade

c.1963

Medium

Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark

Dimensions (IN)

32 1/8 x 19 3/4

Dimensions (CM)

81.6 x 50.2

Credit

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. Gift of John W. Kluge, 1997. 1996.0035.003.

Narrative

Maŋgalili

The Maŋgalili clan belongs to the Yirritja moiety. Their major spiritual theme revolves around the...

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Location

Wayawupuy

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Location

1960s

The 1960s were a decade of tumult and triumph for Yolŋu art and artists. In...

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About The Artist(s)

Clan

Maŋgalili

Artist Dates

c.1914-1969

Alternative Names

Nanjin, Nanung, Nanyan

Nänyin Maymuru

Nänyin Maymuru was the elder brother of Narritjin Maymuru. Along with his brother, he painted the Maŋgalili section of the Yirrkala Church Panels and developed the distinctive Maŋgalili school of painting continued by their children Baluka Maymuru, Galuma Maymuru and Naminapu Maymuru-White.

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