'Stone Country'
Image: Gunbalanya wetlands,Courtesy Injalak Arts
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Gunbalanya is the Aboriginal name for the
Oenpelli settlement (which was originally a mission). The area includes the
flood plains of the East
Alligator River
that are covered by water from December to April and a rocky sandstone plateau
rising up to 200 metres above the plains. The extensive black soil plains which
extend from the base of the escarpment with their billabongs and their swamps
formed by the huge river system provided a natural habitat for a wide variety
of fish, birds such as emu and water fowl, and game including kangaroos and
wallabies, possums, flying foxes, echidnas and goannas. Local people found
plenty of food. During the long tropical wet season when the rivers and swamps
were overflowing and it became difficult to travel, families retreated to
higher ground and made camps in the sandstone caves and rock shelters. Large
galleries of ochre paintings in the rock still provide a magnificent record of
the continuous occupation of the area.
Today the population of approximately 1,000
are predominantly Kunwinjku speakers with English as a second language,
although up to the time of first contact with Europeans early this century the
area was the home of many different tribal groups, including the Gagadju.
Nearby is the rugged Arnhem Land escarpment
area of deep plunging gorges, huge boulders and wide overhanging rock platforms is known as the 'Stone Country'.
East of Gunbalanya and spreading as far as
the Mann River
in Arnhem Land are ten active outstations
where several hundred people live a more traditional existence. The region from
the East Alligator to the Mann
River serves as Injalak's
'artistic catchment' area.
The art of Oenpelli is typical of the
western Arnhem Land style, in which x-ray
paintings, with dynamic images of spirit ancestors and delicate paintings of
the Mimi spirits. These are painted very finely on a plain background. Paintings
are traditionally on bark, but now are commonly on fine art paper.
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Injalak Arts
Injalak Arts is a non-profit, community art
centre. It has over 200 members made up of artists and weavers from Gunbalanya
and surrounding outstations.
“Injalak is located in the most beautiful
surrounds imaginable. When the
Aboriginal Protector, Baldwin Spencer, arrived here in June 1912 he declared it
‘….much the most beautiful spot I had seen in the Territory.’ Gunbalanya is the gateway to the top of Arnhem Land.
Visitors cross the tidal East Alligator River
at Cahill’s Crossing and enter Arnhem Land by
traversing terrain which rapidly alters from open plains through to paperbark
swamps, passing sandstone and granite outcrops and woodlands. All this in the seventeen kilometers it takes
to reach the community!” Anthony Murphy from Twined Together.
Visit the Injalak Arts website
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Nabarlek
Nabarlek,
the garage band that never had a garage come from a
small community in central Arnhem Land
(Manmoyi) where for 15 years they have been rehearsing and practicing for the
moment that they could produce their first album.
In 1985 the band consisted of two busted acoustic guitars and a
set of upturned flour tins that served as drums, the band was mostly singers
and dancers.
After a few years of struggling with inadequate instruments the band gave up
their musical ambitions for a while and created a traditional dance troupe
performing dreamtime stories at community festivals around the Top End.
As a dance troupe Nabarlek were very successful and after a few years were able
to save enough money to buy the long sought after instruments, and the band was
back.
With guitars keyboards and a real set of drums instead of upturned flour tins,
they were now able to concentrate on their long held dream of becoming a
serious band that would one day produce an album.
"Brimming with earnest enthusiasm, Nabarlek Band, from the tiny Manmoyi in
the centre of Arnhemland, have a fitting slogan to go with their album:
"The garage band that never had a garage"....The songs are sung in
tribal language and English, and there's real magic in the singer's voices. Extract
from the skinnyfishmusic website.
Want to know more about Narbalek?
Narbalek band - Australia Icon article
Visit the Narbalek myspace
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