Cathrine Ariuu 1947
Ngan’gikurrungurr. Ngambu Ngambu
Merrepen Arts
Nauiyu, Daly River,
Fitzmaurice region,
Northern Territory
Floating Water Lilies
Etching on paper
”Red lotus lily or miwulngini have big pink flowers, large leaves, and green pods that ripen at the beginning of the dry season producing a seed, midamuy. They are found in all the billabongs around the Daly. There is a big billabong just the other side of the community.
The seed can be eaten raw or roasted on hot coals. These seeds are a rich and abundant food source for the Aboriginal people of the Daly River. The root minginiginy is eaten after roasting; it is also used medicinally to treat constipation. The new shoot minytyangari is eaten raw like celery sticks. The leaf is called midetyeri. The large concave leaves can be used to carry water and as a cup to drink from.”
Yirrng
Pig nose turtle
Acrylic on canvast
”The Pig Nose Turtle is a poor swimmer who floats along fairly slowly in the water. In the past they were mostly caught by hand in the river, but are now caught with fishing lines. Generally they are roasted on their belly in hot coals; but they can be roasted on their back cooked in their own juices. The Pig Nose Turtle is usually found in the saltwater, although they have adapted themselves to the freshwater, the Daly River is one of the only sites where this is recognized.”
