Artist : Tony Bindin Yuwati, born 1931
Sculpture: Totemic Tortoise
Collected: 1964
This carving is of the totemic tortoise called Minala. It was carved by Yuwati , from Central Arnhem Land and was collected in the 1964. It is one of the totems that form part of the Myth cycles of Central Arnhem Land. According to Louis Allen in his book “ Time Before Morning: Art and Myths of Australian Aborigines” this totemic tortoise is part of the “The Faithful Wife and the Tortoise Totem’” myth.
In the dreamtime a woman named Barok was sleeping by a water hole after a hard day of gathering food. Half asleep she felt a soft touch on her leg. She looked up to see a long necked tortoise, its neck outstretched. Barok lazily brushed the tortoise aside, but it came back crawling further up her leg. She suddenly realised that Bornga her husband was from the tortoise totem and this was a sign that they were to have a child and that the tortoise spirit and entered her womb. Indeed she soon became pregnant and had a child.
When the son was born Bornga the father went of to the waterhole and sang the sacred song of his clan as he carved a figure of a tortoise. He then carefully decorated the tortoise with the sacred design given to him by the tortoise spirit. He placed the carving on the ground and chanted. The power of the tortoise spirit entered the carving. He then chanted to the carving of the tortoise invoking its powers to make his son Minala wise and strong.
Minala grew into a beautiful young man, a good hunter and provider. Before long he became married to Wimu. Unfortunately Wimu was very possessive of her husband and jealous of the many unmarried women who were attracted to him. Wimu guarded her man, driving away any young woman that came near and following her husband everwhere he went. His wife loved him too!
Minala knew he had to escape and decided he needed to take drastic action. He sought the help of his tribal leader and magic man and they agreed to change Wimu his wife back into a tortoise. A ceremony was performed at a seclude sacred site and the men returned to their campsite. Unknown to the others Wimu had observed the ritual and after they had left went in and destroyed the sacred site.
That night as Minala and Wimu lay together something strange happened. Minala had disappeared and in his place was a long neck tortoise. The tortoise crawled to the river and disappeared into the water. Wimu knew that it was her fault as she had profaned his magic, and so it had turned against him. Minala would now live in the reeds with his totemic kin.
Wimu remorseful and missing her husband went to the scorcer and wanted to get him back. There was however no magic strong enough to bring him back.
Actual size 45cm x 12cm included is a metal stand with sculpture mounted vertically
$1100 AUD
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