‘Kunkurra’, the spiralling wind is associated with several sites in the Kardbam clan estate. On one level, this
painting can be interpreted as a depiction of the kinds of mini-cyclones common during the wet season in
Arnhem Land, where the artist lives. In this painting, Kunkurra also relates specifically to a site called Bilwoyinj,
near Mankorlod.
At this site, two of the most important Kuninjku creation beings, a father and son known as na-korrkko, are
believed to have hunted and eaten a goanna. They left some of the goanna fat behind at the site, which
turned into the rock that still stands there today. The word Bilwoyinj, which is the name of this site, also refers to
the fat of the goanna. Bilwoyinj site is also a ceremonial ground for a ceremony called Yabbaduruwa, a major
ceremony owned by the Yirridja patrimoiety. The Yabbaduruwa ceremony is primarily concerned with initiation,
land ownership and promoting the cyclical regeneration of the human and natural worlds.
