The Rainbow Serpent as Visual Metaphor in Western Arnhem Land

Taylor, Luke

doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1990.tb01559.x

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…104 Berndt and Berndt (1970:20), Hiatt (1971), Maddock (1970), Taylor (1990) and others have noted that both Rainbow Snakes are androgynous or bi-sexual to some extent; androgyny features in Rainbow Serpent mythology throughout Arnhem Land. Taylor (1990:331) has also described the different ways in which they are said to have created landscapes.…”

Section: Contemporary Kunwinjku Conceptionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Subsequent depictions of Rainbow Serpents are equally elaborate and various. Today these Beings continue to be painted on sheets of bark and paper; the stories of them describe the creation of landscapes, animals and Aboriginal people (Taylor 1990;West 1995).…”

Section: Rainbow Serpents In the Rock Art Of Arnhem Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In western and central Arnhem Land its use has increased dramatically since the 1950s. Aboriginal elders argue that the crosshatched rarrk designs add brilliance, rainbow colour or rainbowness, Ancestral power and aesthetic potency to paintings (see Morphy 1991, Tacon 1989a, 1989b, Taylor 1987, 1990. In essence, the cross-hatching makes the subjects of paintings 'alive' with Ancestral power and with spiritualness, found within all living things, that is most concentrated within the Rainbow Serpent.…”

Section: Gulinj Flying Foxes and Rainbow Serpentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

Taçon

Wilson

Chippindale

1996

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Rainbow Serpent is agreed to be one of the most powerful, all consuming and widespread Ancestral Beings of Aboriginal Australia. It pervades not only oral history but also ceremony, performance and visual art, and is associated with great acts of creation and destruction. Although Rainbow Serpent imagery varies, its supernatural nature is usually emphasised by its form, often through the incorporation of attributes derived from a variety of natural creatures. Rock paintings of the Being are scattered across the continent but a particularly large sample can be found in western Arnhem Land. We analyse 107 of these in detail and note variation across both time and space through the use of multivariate statistical techniques. We hypothesise about the origins of the oldest images and compare key elements of Rainbow Serpent stories to those of 'Yam Style' Rainbow Serpents, reputed to be 4000-6000 years of age. It is our contention that an archaeological context for many of the more significant aspects of Rainbow Serpent oral history can be found over several millennia.

show abstract

Section: Contemporary Kunwinjku Conceptionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Rainbow Serpents In the Rock Art Of Arnhem Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gulinj Flying Foxes and Rainbow Serpentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

Taçon

Wilson

Chippindale

1996

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For Kuninjku the desired aesthetic effect is an expression or emanation of colour and light. For example, Kuninjku consider that paintings of the original creator being, Ngalyod the rainbow serpent, and other Ancestral beings, called djang , should be painted with these light‐emitting designs (see Taylor 1990; 1996: 208‐20). The designs evoke the Ancestral power, or kun‐ngudj , of Ancestral beings, although the designs used in bark paintings are not said to be powerful in the same way as ceremonial paintings.…”

Section: Mardayin Paintingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They may say tourist, may say truly painting’: aesthetic evaluation and meaning of bark paintings in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia¹

Taylor

2008

Royal Anthropological Inst

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For Kuninjku artists, the production of bark paintings is inspired by their love for the Ancestrally created clan country, the key ground of Kuninjku existence, and yet the works are also produced to be sold on the world market. The intention of the artists is to educate non‐Kuninjku audiences about the importance of country. Artists manipulate culturally appropriate forms of representation and aesthetic treatment in order to create works that have both local and broad‐based appeal. The focus of this article is upon the way Kuninjku learn about appropriate ways of painting within the familial context and how this context is also intercultural in scope. The article leads to a consideration of the way artists develop experience and seniority and may break away from established forms to create new work. In this respect certain Kuninjku artists become leaders in developing styles they consider suitable for the contemporary art market. Résumé La production de peintures sur écorce par les artistes kuninjku est inspirée par l’amour des terres de leur clan, créées par les Ancêtres et lieu essentiel de leur existence. Pourtant, ces œuvres sont également destinées àêtre vendues sur le marché mondial. L’intention des artistes est de faire comprendre au public non kuninjku l’importance du pays. Ils manipulent les formes culturellement appropriées de représentation et de traitement artistique et esthétique pour créer des œuvres ayant à la fois un intérêt local et un attrait plus large. L’auteur met ici l’accent sur la manière dont les Kuninjku apprennent les manières appropriées de peindre dans le contexte familial, et comment ce contexte a aussi une portée interculturelle. L’article débouche sur une analyse de la façon dont les artistes acquièrent expérience et ancienneté et peuvent alors rompre avec les formes établies de création de nouvelles œuvres. À cet égard, certains artistes kuninjku deviennent des chefs de file dans le développement de styles qu’ils considèrent adaptés au marché de l’art contemporain.

show abstract

“…Because a large number of rock paintings were made so recently and since a similar tradition continues on bark (Taylor 1987(Taylor , 1989(Taylor , 1990 it is still possible to obtain ethnographic insight into the meaning, significance and production of various works. Furthermore, the mythology and ideology associated with specific images, complexes or sites are extensive enough that they can be compared to the distribution of subjects, forms, substyles and motifs across the landscape.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regionalism in the recent rock art of western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

Taçon

1993

Archaeology in Oceania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For at least a thousand years various areas within western Arnhem Land have been 'associated with a relative abundance of freshwater food resources. Aboriginal groups were thus able to subsist within the confines of territories that are much smaller than in many other parts of the Australian continent. As a consequence, the first Europeans to visit the area observed numerous regional language boundaries, many of which were associated with particular bands, clans and/or families. My recent research has found a strong correlation between forms and sub-styles of recent rock paintings, linguistics and mythology associated with Ancestral Beings, the landscape and events of the past. This relationship adds a new dimension to interpreting the prehistory of the region. I outline many of the most significant trends in the rock art body and then rock paintings and myths are examined to throw light on major events of the prehistoric record that are further removed in time. I conclude that there are implications for other areas of Australia.

show abstract

The Rainbow Serpent as Visual Metaphor in Western Arnhem Land

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

‘They may say tourist, may say truly painting’: aesthetic evaluation and meaning of bark paintings in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia¹

Regionalism in the recent rock art of western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The Rainbow Serpent as Visual Metaphor in Western Arnhem Land

Cited by 15 publications

References 8 publications

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

Birth of the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land rock art and oral history

‘They may say tourist, may say truly painting’: aesthetic evaluation and meaning of bark paintings in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia1

Regionalism in the recent rock art of western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

‘They may say tourist, may say truly painting’: aesthetic evaluation and meaning of bark paintings in western Arnhem Land, northern Australia¹