Hi, my name is Jye Cole Hopkins. I am a Luritja and Warumunga man living on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country. Today I’m reading Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu’s words as he is a deaf artist who signs in Yolŋu.
'Yolŋu ceremonies have always been and will always be the backbone of my life.
Maralitja is an ancestral being of wisdom and is a powerful leader. Maralitja identifies the Gumatj clan as the people of Biranybirany, the land of the gurtha (the land of fire). When a person passes away, Gumatj men and women paint themselves with yellow ochre and white clay on their foreheads. This represents our spirit-being of Maralitja.
In my artwork my face is painted with yellow ochre. I am the ancestral being of Maralitja. As Maralitja, I am performing the buŋgul of Bäru (the dance of the Crocodile). Bäru comes from the salt water, I come from the salt water.'
