Lumaluma
1976
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)
Measurements
114.2 × 50.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented through The Art Foundation of Victoria by Dr Milton Roxanas, Governor, 1996
© The Estate of George Merwulunlu Djahgurrnga
Gallery location
Not on display
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Kunbarllanjnja (Oenpelli), Northern Territory
Inscription
inscribed (vertically) in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.: G676
Accession Number
1996.371
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Physical description
Lumaluma, the powerful ancestral being and creator of the Mardayin ceremony is represented in this painting. The ancestral giant travelled through Kunwinjku country carrying sacred objects. As he travelled, he stole women and devoured them, for which he was lured into an ambush and speared by the Kunwinjku. The ancestral being pleaded to be spared until he had disclosed full knowledge of the Mardayin ceremony, body designs, dances and sacred songs. He cut his body with geometric designs using sharp flints, before his death. Sacred objects used in the Mardayin ceremony were released from Lumaluma's body when he died, along with the human ancestors of today's clan groups.