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Main Image 1131
Cat.No: #1131
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Peter Nabarlambarl
Mako Djang
etching
68 x 54 cm
$370 AUD
Indicated prices are in Australian dollars including GST. Please note that prices are subject to change at the discretion of the gallery.
.

The central motif of this etching by senior Oenpelli artist, Peter Narbarlambarl, is the male rainbow serpent, ngalyod. The people of Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) region in Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, tell of how the mother rainbow serpent came from the north across the sea, creating many islands, people and languages. She entered the mainland of Australia south of Croker Island, metamorphosing into the Earth Mother and giving birth to rainbow serpents including her first born son, ngaloyd. He has many manifestations, often showing the body of a huge python and the head of a crocodile. From the back of his head protrudes sharp horny spikes making it easier to burrow underground rather than travel on land.

In this image the ngalyod is placed next to three didgeridoos, or mako. Traditional stories about the discovery and creation of the didgeridoo are based around the phallus, with similarities between the physiology of a man's penis and a long hollow log being common in Gunbalanya mythology.

The term, djang, refers to sacred or sacred place where specific rites and rituals relating to the beings and sites are still performed and maintained today.