Djirriḏiḏi giwiḻirr (Garrawurra conical basket)

Margaret Rarru Garrawurra is a senior artist, master weaver, and respected Elder. She was born at Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island) and now lives between her mother’s Country of Laŋarra (Howard Island) and Yurrwi (Milingimbi Island) in hte Northern Territory. Harvesting and processing materials from her homelands, each work by Rarru resonates with cultural knowledge of the Djaŋ'kawu Sisters. The mindirr (basket) is a ceremonial and practical object used by the sisters as they travelled across Country creating the landforms present in parts of Arnhem Land today. In this work Rarru employs the Djaŋ'kawu Sisters Liyagawumirr Djirri-didi (ceremonial body paint designs) to create miny'tji (colour and pattern) on the mindirr (basket).
The Milingimbi Art and Culture certificate for this work states: This giwiḻirr (Garrawurra conical basket) has been woven from harvested fibres coloured using bush dyes derived from the bark, roots and leaves of local trees. Djirriḏiḏi, is the name of the striped red, white and yellow Garrawurra body paint design. Djirriḏiḏi is painted onto the chests of Garrawurra people during the Ŋärra cleansing ceremony, Bäpurru funeral ceremony and Dhapi initiation ceremony. Garrawurra artists create many variations of these geometric designs, with different variations representing the progressive stages of ceremony. The purple at the base of this piece references ratjpa (a purple/red iridescent natural pigment). Ratjpa is painted onto the skin as an undercoat for the red, yellow and white clan designs to be painted on top.