Lot 58

Painted at Minjilang (Croker Island), Western Arnhem Land
The Collection of Sandra Le Brun Holmes
Private collection, Victoria

Le Brun Holmes, S., Yirawala: Painter of the Dreaming, Hodder & Staughton, Sydney, 1992, pl. 51, 52, 53, 54 (similar examples)

"In the Dreaming Time, Kundaagi the Kangaroo was pursued by Mimi hunters who speared him, then cooked him. The painting shows the traditional way of cooking kangaroo; Legs cut off and placed next to body. When the Mimi had eaten him they placed his bones in a heap. Bones are never burned for that destroys the spirit. Kundaagi's old mother found her sons' bones and after performing a mourning ritual, she collected all the bones and finally performed a Lorrgon ritual, as she interred the bones in a hollow log. This was the origin of the ceremony performed today."

The design upon his back depict the fire, leaves and sticks used to cook it. The legs are trussed in a certain way for cooking and shows the cooked whitened flesh of the kangaroo is waiting to be eaten by the Mimi. (Sandra Le Brun Holmes, 1960)

© Yirawala/Copyright Agency, 2025