LEGENDS AND OTHER FINE THINGS

'Banumbirr: Morning Star Poles', artists from Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island), NT, Australia

Hello there,

time to look at some more Indigenous Australian art...

Currently on display at GoMA are these unique ceremonial Morning Star Poles,

made by artists from Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island) which is a small island off Arnhem land along the northern shores of Australia.

The poles are beautiful, as is the story which accompanies them.

There are over 70 poles, but several different artists, each series showing different clan designs and features.  Though made for public exhibition, these poles are still held sacred by their makers.

The Yolngu people call the planet Venus 'Banumbirr' and tell how she came across the sea from the east, naming and creating animals and lands as she crossed the shoreline, travelling westwards across the country.

It is told that each day at sunset spirits on Burralku, an island to the east hold a morning star ceremony.  As dancing intensifies the rising dust creates the twilight which gradually becomes darkness.

During the day the star is hidden by an old woman in a special feathered bag, and just before dawn she releases the star on a long string.

First it ascends to the top of a tall pandanus tree to survey all the places it will visit, then flies over Arnhem Land heralding the dawn, pausing over each of the clans related to it.  As the sun rises the old woman reels in Banumbirr by its feathered string to be hidden again until the next evening.

The Yolngu people had observed that Venus never strays far from the Sun, which they explain in terms of the rope binding the two bodies together (gravity).  The Morning Star ceremony has to be planned well in advance since Venus rises a few hours before dawn only at certain times of the year, which vary from year to year.  So we know that the Yolngu people also track the complex motion of Venus well enough to predict when to hold the Morning Star Ceremony.

Raki (string) spiritually central to the Banumbirr story, is made from bark fibres and human hair wrapped around the poles and then painted with clan designs.  Great lengths of feathered strings, pul pul, and feather tufts representing the bright star are attached to achieve the transcendent beauty the Banumbirr poles require.

Meanwhile, the garden is having a great time with the slightly cooler temperatures and managing to produce some blooms...

Our Peace rose is in bud - watch this space....

Cute new Palm Beach basket from a great online store: Ladychatterleysaffair

and Wanda Panda yellow shoes - because I don't have to live in sandals every day, now that Autumn's here...

Happy 91st Birthday to Her Majesty, who sensibly spent the day at The Races.

Doesn't she look wonderfully alert and happy...

Tomorrow is Anzac Day, when we Australians remember those who served our country in times of war..

Google image 

My Grandfather and his two brothers joined the Australian Imperial Forces during World War I, and served in Flanders and The Somme.

En route to Europe, the Australians trained in Egypt and the Australian War Memorial preserves many photos of them, pictured near the Pyramids and the Sphinx.  Young Australian men saw it as a great adventure, but as we know, many did not return.

Fortunately my Grandfather survived his time in the trenches of Flanders and returned to Australia to have a family which included my Dad, who passed away last year at 95.

Lest we Forget.

Sydneysider Son and Little Aussie are coming this weekend.

Yay!!

Have a great week.

XXXXX