Deutscher and Hackett

This work is accompanied by a certificate from Buku-Larrngay Mulka Arts which states: ‘The totemic significance of fire to the Yunupingu family of the Gumatj clan is paramount. It is said that the Gumatj clan language, Dhuwalandja, is itself the tongue of flame. This language, or tongue, like the flame, cuts through all artifice. It incinerates dishonestly leaving only the bones of the truth. In the initial interface between Yolngu sacred art and the Western art world an early decision was made on the Yolngu side to use figurative imagery to cover the miny’tji in paintings. This ‘miny’tji’ is the source and record of the sacred identity of the law and the land portrayed.’