Milawuy are the ancestral Black-headed pythons that reside at the sacred rocks of Bärraŋur on Ganalbiŋu country on the edges of the vast Arafura swamp in central Arnhem Land. These snakes are associated with rain and abundance and are often described in English as lightening snakes that can conjure up rainclouds and violent torrential storms.

The two yellow ellipses at the top of the painting represent these large cliff-like stones that are home to Milawuy, also called Gunuŋu. This place is said to be yindi yaku, which literally translates to ‘big-name place’, and refers to a powerful or dangerous place heavy with ancestral energy. This site is said to be dangerous and should be avoided by humans for fear of their health and safety.

One chapter relating to the saga of Milawuy describes how the pythons sang the large red kangaroo who wandered into their territory into a state of paralysis before eating it. As the artist describes, “This place too dangerous. If you go there the snakes will smell you and come for you. They make lightening and sing magic songs – watch out.”

This work has been strapped (aluminium flat bar on the back of the bark to hold the bark in place) so that it is archivally sound and ready to hang.