Education Resource(small).indd - Department of Arts and Museums
Education Resource(small).indd - Department of Arts and Museums
Education Resource(small).indd - Department of Arts and Museums
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B<strong>and</strong>uk Marika<br />
Rulyapa<br />
Natural pigments on bark<br />
This miny’tji (sacred clan design) represents Rulyapa, the rough saltwater country between Nhulunbuy<br />
<strong>and</strong> the large isl<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> Dhambaliya, ballooning up from the secret depths around the sacred rock<br />
Manhala, which can be a manifestation <strong>of</strong> Daymirri. Daymirri is the whale (or perhaps sea monster),<br />
that according to Rirratjingu <strong>and</strong> Djambarrpuyngu clan manikay (sacred song) pertains to the<br />
saltwater country close to Yirrkala. The dome-shaped rock Manhala exposes itself at the low tide<br />
above the rang (tide marks) bleached white, a patina <strong>of</strong> brine <strong>and</strong> weather.<br />
Manhala is one <strong>of</strong> many names given to the rock. Djambarrpuyngu <strong>and</strong> Rirratjingu clans have many<br />
‘deep’ names that are intoned by the ritual specialists at the culmination <strong>of</strong> appropriate ceremony.<br />
The sea surrounding the rock, its tidal movements, differing states <strong>and</strong> the effect it had on Yolngu<br />
visiting this site in ancestral times is all recorded in the sacred song as are all the totemic species<br />
<strong>of</strong> marine life that have these ancestral connections to the Rirratjingu <strong>and</strong> Djambarrpuyngu. Often<br />
painted in this design is Daymirri (whale), Balpa (rock cod), Djumbarr (red emperor), Darrpa (king<br />
brown snake) <strong>and</strong> Mutjalanydjal (dolphin). All <strong>of</strong> these things <strong>and</strong> all <strong>of</strong> their meanings are implied<br />
simply by the presence <strong>of</strong> the miny’tji for the water.<br />
It’s not just Manhala <strong>and</strong> the power associated with deep seated knowledge that makes this area<br />
both sacred <strong>and</strong> dangerous to those entering without authority. There are three other rocks in the<br />
area <strong>of</strong> similar qualities but these ones - Wakwakbuy, Mulnguwuy <strong>and</strong> Dharrpawuy are submerged.<br />
(Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre)
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