Interior of a tree soon to be made into a Mago
Ghunmarn Cultural Centre is located in Wugularr (Beswick) and features the style of this region (Arnhemland). The designs are very intricately formed with fine cross hatching (called rarrk).
The artist’s brush is made with a single thin flexible grass stalk which is inserted in a little piece of wood to make it easier to hold, this brush is favoured to paint the rarrk (cross hatch) design.
The artwork tells many stories, some traditional and some contemporary. The art from this region has recognizable animals and foods. Some of the common subjects are file snakes, barramundi, turtles, small fish, bush potato and waterlilies.
Sugar Bag Wax, a natural mouthpiece
The mouth piece can get dry and splintery so sugar bag wax is used to make a mouthpiece. This wax also moulds to your mouth making a more comfortable seal so all your air is used.
Harvesting wax involves locating the sugar bag fly (native bee honey) in the bush, they are quite small and difficult to spot, and following it to the hive, sometimes just a 3mm hole in a tree or on the ground.
Honey is squeezed from the wax, rich and dark, it’s sweet with a slight citrus flavour. The wax left behind is drained, cleaned and ready for many different uses.
