Nourlangie Rock

Last updated

Nourlangie Rock
Northern Territory
Kakadu 2488.jpg
Nourlangie Rock
Australia Northern Territory relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Nourlangie Rock
Coordinates 12°51′42″S132°48′45″E / 12.86167°S 132.81250°E / -12.86167; 132.81250
Website Nourlangie Rock

Burrunggui (sometimes spelled Burrunguy, previously called Nourlangie Rock) is located in an outlying sandstone [1] formation of the Arnhem Land Escarpment within the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the traditional Country of the Gun-djeihmi speaking people and according to traditional owners, was shaped by Ancestral beings in the creation period of the Dreaming [1] (Chaloupka 1982 p. 6). It was included on the World Heritage Register. [2] Kakadu National Park is included on UNESCO the World Heritage List due to its exceptional natural and cultural values. [3]

Contents

Europeans were first in the area of Noulangie Rock in about 1845, after Ludwig Leichhardt’s explorations passed through the area. [1] By the 1880s, European buffalo and buffalo shooters had moved into the area and local traditional owners joined their shooting parties. [1] Traditional owners told the buffalo shooters about the Dreaming stories at Burrungui and the many names of all the natural features of the landscapes. Chaloupka argues that the Europeans couldn’t remember all of the names, and called ‘Nourlangie’, a confused pronunciation of the name of the area generally called ‘Nawulandja’. [1]

Rock art at Burrungui (Nourlangie)

There are a number of shelters in amongst this large outcrop. The shelters contain amazing paintings that represent the Aboriginal Dreaming, with depictions of Namandi spirits, both male and female figures and one with six fingers on each hand. [1] Many paintings in the Burrungui area also depict European items and introduced animals. [1] Pigments are mostly of yellow, white and red ochre, with red ochre being used as a chalk to draw on the rock surface in some places. [1] Early art at the site is evidenced in handprints on the rock in red pigment, or gars being flung on the rock. [1] The paintings at Burrungui are in the Mimi and x-ray style, with Mimi being older and representative of Dreaming Ancestral beings. [1] There are even depictions of Thylacines (Tasmanian Tigers), known to have been extinct in the area for at least 3,500 years. [1] Superimposition of many animals such as kangaroos layered over one another, assist in the establishment of a temporal sequence at the site, [1] however there appears to still be much research and work needed at the site for this to occur.

The rock art faces many threats to its survival, including tourists and destruction from natural processes such as ant trail that go across the older panels at Burrungui, water damage and wasp nesting. Interpretive signage is present at the art sites to assist visitors in understanding these rock art treasures and the importance of their preservation.

Anbangbang

The Anbangbang Shelter drawings are some of the most famous in the National Park. One of the intricate paintings in Anbangbang shelter was created by Nayombolmi, an artist of the Bardmardi clan, [4] who painted the images with his friends in the 1963 -64 wet season. [5] Nayombolmi lived between 1895 and 1967 and is thought to have created around 604 paintings at 46 sites in Arnhem Land. [5] Nayombolmi was also known as ‘Barramundi Charlie’ by some. [6]

X-ray paintings are naturalistic depictions of animals that show the internal organs and other anatomical features, which were mostly painted by Aboriginal people in red and white ochre. One such painting created by Nayombolmi depicts anthropomorphic figures of Ancestral beings such as Namarrgon (lightning man), painted in the x-ray style using European blue, that Chaloupka said came from the blue pigment put in washing by Europeans as a toner to keep clothes white. [1] Paintings and rock art such as this among the only rock art that provides absolute dating of when it was produced, as rock art is notoriously difficult to date.

Anbangbang was excavated by archaeologists in 1981 and was found to have first been occupied more than 6000 years ago, with some occasional use being up to 20,000 years ago and with intensification of site use occurring between 800 and 1200 years ago when the nearby lagoon was fully formed. [4]

Nangawulurr

Nayombolmi also painted at Nangawulurr Shelter (formerly spelled Nangaloar). It is located on the northern side of Burrungui (Nourlangie Rock). [6] Nangawulurr shelter features many styles of Aboriginal rock art that appear in other sites around the region in one area. It includes hand prints, Mimi figures in ceremonial dress, Ancestral beings, x-ray animals and dolphin-like creatures depicted in red ochre. [1] It also features a white depiction of a two-masted sailing ship with an anchor and dingy, which may relate to the early European buffalo shooters in the area [1] ). Unfortunately due to the fame of the site for its amazing rock art, in the early 1970s tourists came and destroyed some features and even stole Aboriginal Ancestral Remains from the site. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamaragan</span>

In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Mamaragan or Namarrkon is a lightning Ancestral Being who speaks with thunder as his voice. He rides a storm-cloud and throws lightning bolts to humans and trees. He lives in a puddle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakadu National Park</span> Protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km (106 mi) southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded living there in the 2016 Australian census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave painting</span> Paintings, often prehistoric, on cave walls and ceilings

In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art, found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin. These paintings were often created by Homo sapiens, but also Denisovans and Neanderthals; other species in the same Homo genus. Discussion around prehistoric art is important in understanding the history of the Homo sapiens species and how Homo sapiens have come to have unique abstract thoughts. Some point to these prehistoric paintings as possible examples of creativity, spirituality, and sentimental thinking in prehistoric humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous Australian art</span> Art made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia

Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, rock carving, watercolour painting, sculpting, ceremonial clothing and sandpainting; art by Indigenous Australians that pre-dates European colonisation by thousands of years, up to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochre</span> Earth pigment of characteristic colour

Ochre, iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced by this pigment, especially a light brownish-yellow. A variant of ochre containing a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide, has a reddish tint known as red ochre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhimbetka rock shelters</span> 30,000+ years old archaeological World Heritage site in Madhya Pradesh, India

The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of the Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times. It is located in the Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) south-east of Bhopal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 km (6.2 mi). At least some of the shelters were inhabited more than 100,000 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock art</span> Human-made markings on natural stone

In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also may be called cave art or parietal art. A global phenomenon, rock art is found in many culturally diverse regions of the world. It has been produced in many contexts throughout human history. In terms of technique, the four main groups are:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney rock engravings</span>

Sydney rock engravings, or Sydney rock art, are a form of Australian Aboriginal rock art in the sandstone around Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that consist of carefully drawn images of people, animals, or symbols. Many thousands of such engravings are known to exist in the Sydney region, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their sanctity, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by Indigenous Australians. There are two art environments in Sydney Basin, rock shelters and engraving sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubirr</span> Mountain

Ubirr, once referred to as Obiri Rock, so-named by C. P. Mountford, is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is known for its rock art. It consists of a group of rock outcrops on the edge of the Nadab floodplain where there are several natural shelters that have a collection of Aboriginal rock paintings, some of which are many thousands of years old. The art depicts certain creation ancestors as well as animals from the area such as barramundi, catfish, mullet, goannas, long-necked turtles, pig-nosed turtles, rock ringtail possums, and wallabies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anbangbang Billabong</span>

Anbangbang Billabong lies in the shadow of Burrunggui within Kakadu National Park and is a good place to view a wide range of wildlife. Large numbers of waterfowl and wading birds inhabit the billabong and many wallabies can be found grazing around the water's edge. There is a walking trail around the circumference of Anbangbang Billabong with many picnic areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kondoa Rock-Art Sites</span> National Historic Site of Tanzania

The Kondoa Rock-Art Sites or Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings are a series of ancient paintings on rockshelter walls in central Tanzania. The Kondoa region was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 because of its impressive collection of rock art. These sites were named national monuments in 1937 by the Tanzania Antiquities Department. The paintings are located approximately nine kilometres east of the main highway (T5) from Dodoma to Babati, about 20 km north of Kondoa town, in Kondoa District of Dodoma Region, Tanzania. The boundaries of the site are marked by concrete posts. The site is a registered National Historic Sites of Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyero rock paintings</span> Rock paintings in eastern Uganda

The Nyero rock paintings are located in eastern Uganda in Kumi District, 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Kumi town, about 250 km (155.3 mi) from the capital city Kampala. The Nyero rock paintings are among the most important rock art in Uganda.

George Jiří Chaloupka OAM, FAHA was an expert on Indigenous Australian rock art. He identified and documented thousands of rock art sites, and was a passionate advocate for Aboriginal Australian art, as longest continuing art tradition in the world. He is especially known for the much-debated assignation of a four-phase style sequence to rock art in Arnhem Land, and the term "Dynamic Figures", which he assigned to rock art described by him in Mirrar country of western Arnhem Land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek</span>

Bardayal "Lofty" Nadjamerrek was a Kunwinjku Aboriginal artist of the Mok clan. He belonged to the Duwa moiety and spoke the Kundedjnjenghmi language. He is currently referred to by his skin and clan as "Wamud Namok", following the Kunwinjku custom of avoiding use of the name of deceased persons.

The Bininj are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. The sub-groups of Bininj are sometimes referred to by the various language dialects spoken in the region, that is, the group of dialects known as Bininj Kunwok; so the people may be named the Kunwinjku, Kuninjku, Kundjeyhmi (Gundjeihmi), Manyallaluk Mayali, Kundedjnjenghmi and Kune groups.

Earlwood Aboriginal Art Site is a heritage-listed Aboriginal cultural site at Earlwood, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. It is also known as Aboriginal Art and Midden. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 27 November 2009.

Mick Kubarkku (c.1922-2008) was regarded as a prominent Aboriginal Australian artist most associated with Kuninjku modernism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunjil's Shelter</span> Protected area in Victoria, Australia

Bunjil's Shelter, also known as Bunjil's Cave, is an Aboriginal sacred site in the Grampians region of Australia near Stawell. It contains a painting of Bunjil and two dingos or dogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nayombolmi</span> Rock artist from the Arhem Land region

Nayombolmi or Najombolmi, who was also known as Barramundi Charlie was a Badmardi (Bininj) and Jawoyn man born at Balawurru, in the Adelaide River region, of the Northern Territory. This area is now the Kakadu National Park.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Chaloupka, George (1982). Burrunguy: Nourlangie Rock. Nothhart. ISBN   094969200X.
  2. "Department of the Environment".
  3. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage List". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 Mulvaney, John; Kaminga, Johan (1999). Prehistory of Australia. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin. ISBN   9781864489507.
  5. 1 2 Moorwood, M. J. (2002). Visions from the Past: The Archaeology of Australian Aboriginal Art. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN   1-58834-091-0.
  6. 1 2 "Kakadu National Park - Nourlangie" (PDF).