'Tokwampini, the bird'

2m, hand screen printed fabric

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This item is out of stock, please contact us if you would like more information.

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Cat: 55-98

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Tokwampini was the messenger in the pukumani mythology, it as he who told Purukaparli that his wife Bima had committed adultery with her brother-in-law Taparra. This event lead to the mortality of the Tiwi people, the first death, the first funeral pukumani. Tokwampini became a jabiru (native crane), but tokwampini is a common Tiwi name for bird. Birds were humans long ago. When Purukuparli said “I will have a big ceremony for my son” the birds heard. There were pelicans, owls and all sorts of birds. One of the birds spoke to Purukuparli and said ” If you are having ceremony, we will give you feathers for your headband, armbands and goose featherball to decorate yourself so youwon’t be recognised by the spirit of the dead.”

Our Jilamara textiles are hand screen printed by a team of 4 printers, in the Nancy Henry Ripijingimpi screenprinting studio at Jilamara. Each meterage is unique and will most likely have one or two bush touches (a little Milikapiti earth, a smudge of ochre etc). We hope these imperfections remind you of where these textiles were made. We use hanky linen, 100% cotton and a cotton polyester blend. Fabric is sold in 2-metre lengths. Please enquire about colourways or if you have something else in mind.