For Becket - Guwark

This is a detail of a wall hanging we bought in Australia in 1985. We found it in a store in Alice Springs in the Red Centre. I found it. Both my brother Steve and I wanted to buy it. Since I am older, I bought it. ;-) Here is a photo of the whole piece. It is about 19 inches wide and 8 inches tall. Yesterday Beckett posted this photo of a wonderful emu egg with Aboriginal art on it. That made me think of this piece. There is a sheet of paper on the back and this is what it says:

GUWARK, the sacred bird of the Dreamtime, lives at the top of the sacred tree (wallgul) situated high on the cliffs above Blue Mud Bay. Only the very old initiated men can ever view this tree, and then only at dawn, when grey mists swirl about the tree and give an elusive glimpse of its branches.

High on the top of the tree sits Guwark, waiting for cicadas and possums to scamper up the tree with messages from the people living on earth. Then he flies off across the ocean to the island of spirits, Baralku, and tells the problems to the spirit heroes. After consultation among themselves, the spirit heroes nominate Barama, one of the chief spirits, to relay the answer to the big black bird, which then flies back across the ocean. As he approaches the tree he screeches out "guwark, guwark", and possums and cicadas scamper up the tree to hear his message and take it down to the people waiting anxiously below.

Once Guwark was a man who went out fishing with a companion in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Huge seas overturned their canoe, and Guwark gave the only paddle to his companion, who drifted into shore on it. Guwark was drowned and went up into the Milky Way, but each day he flies down to the sacred tree to wait for his messages, returning at night to the Milky Way.

Artist: Naminapu Clan: Mangalili Area: Yirrkala

P.S. Here is a photo Steve took yesterday of Arvin and his daughters Helena and Lynda. I think it came out great. Thanks Steve!