Manuel Pamkal

Moiety: Yirritja

Skin: Godjok

Tribe: Dalabon

Language: Dalabon, Kriol, English

Totem: Rufous Wallaby (wurlala)

Manuel Pamkal was born on 5^th July 1963 at King River southeast of Katherine. This is where Manuel spent most of his early childhood. When he turned 13 he and his family moved to Eva Valley for a year, then they relocated to Bamyili (Barunga), where they settled and Manuel attended school.

When Manuel was 15, his father taught him the traditional way to do bark painting, teaching Manuel how to harvest and burn the stringy bark, how to straighten it with cross sticks and how to make it ready for painting. He also taught Manuel how to find and use traditional pigment from the bush; white clay (bim); red ochre (marnarr); yellow ochre (gilidih), and black charcoal (jardij)

Manuel’s father also used to tell the young dream time stories about what happened a long time ago when all the animals were human. Nowadays Manuel is telling these same stories to his sons and nephews because he believes strongly that the culture must be kept alive and passed on to the next generations. Manuel also is teaching the young people traditional painting techniques, just as his father once taught him.

Manuel has been painting since he was 15, working on didgeridoos, bark paintings and canvas, using both traditional pigments and acrylics. He has sold numerous paintings through the Art Centre at Manyallaluk to tourists and visitors from all over the world.

Manuel's work is in high demand and he frequently gets petitioned for special commission pieces. He is well known among the galleries in Katherine and often gets requests from them for his paintings. He has entered paintings in several regional art shows and won the first prize at the Barunga festival Art Exhibition in 1986 and 1988. In 2000 his painting was accepted as an entry in the Telstra National ATSI Art Award in Darwin. This painting was recognized with an honorable mention and sold eventually to a buyer from Melbourne. In 2001 he sold a large canvas to the Gallery of aboriginal Artists of Australia in Newcastle, NSW. Manuel worked for 10 years as a senior tour guide at Manyallaluk along with his wife Jessica who is well known for her basket making.

Black Headed Python Price: $2600:00 AUD

Moon black headed python and flying fox Python. The python knows when the flying fox are coming out because of the blossoms on the paper bark and stringy bark. Once the sun sets the flying fox leave their home in the trees to eat the blossoms in stringy bark and paper bark trees When the moon is full the python will come out and climb up into the tree and catch the flying fox while they are busy eating.

The flying fox warn the bolong when people go to springs they are not supposed to go to. This makes the bolong angry. The flying fox fly into the air and make a circle. The bolong comes out of the water and opens her mouth and the flying fox fly into her mouth. The bolong takes the flying fox to another place. The flying fox can stay inside the bolong until she is ready to let them go. When they are set free they cannot fly for up to 2 hrs because they are weak.

The bolong have lilies growing on their back to camouflage them. The goanna turtle brolga all work together to after country but the Turtle has the special job of looking after the bolong.
When you see a turtle you cannot follow it as if you do the water will get warmer and you will come face to face with the bolong and be swallowed up. One or two years later the bolong will cough up your bones.

Size: 1215 mm x 785 mm

Code: GA-2753

AUD $2600.00 ex. GST plus shipping and handling.