There was a black cockatoo called Kurrupwani who fell in love with his sister Ngaringa. While his brother-in-law Irrimaru (the hawk) was out hunting he tried to seduce Ngaringa, asking her to come into the long grass with him. She refused. When Irrimaru returned she told him what had happened. Irrimaru decided to teach Kurrupwani a lesson. When they went hunting, Irrimaru asked Kurrupwani to climb the tree to get the sugarbag, then Irrimaru cut down the tree and Kurrupwani turned into a lizard. The Tiwi now call the lizard 'Kurrupwani' and the black cockatoo 'Ngaringa'.
Courtesy of Tiwi Design Aboriginal Corporation
bronze
12 x 7.5 x 34 cm
Finalist
Judges of the 2006 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Anthony Bond (Director Curatorial and Head Curator International at Art Gallery of NSW), Felicity Fenner (Curator at Ivan Doherty Gallery, NSW College of Fine Arts) and Professor Anne Graham (Chair of Fine Art at School of Fine Art, Drama and Music, University of Newcastle).
Download PDF (551 KB)