Ḏawu
2024
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on paper
Measurements
179.9 × 114 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2025
© Dhambit Munuŋgurr, courtesy of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Ḏawu is a Dhuwa tree, also known as rripipi or the Tree of Knowledge. A haven for animals and birds, Yolŋu songs and belief convey the Dawu as home to Dhuwa spirits. The wana (arms) or aerial roots of the tree are used to make dillybags and armbands for sacred ceremonies. In the early 1970s Dhambit Munuŋgurr’s grandfather, Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, stood against the bulldozers alone, armed only with an axe, to stop the mining company Nabalco from destroying the ancient Dawu. This tree still survives, covered in bauxite dust, surrounded by a chain link fence within the mine’s refinery.