Item X 28711 jerilali | Bag. East Alligator River, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. 1922

Summary

This bag was carried by a woman who was pregnant with her first child. Paddy Cahill, who collected the bag, was told that it contained gifts for the child.

Local Name

jerilali

Physical Description

A netted bag made with vegetable fibre string. A multistrand handle of vegetable fibre string is attached either side of the opening. The bag contains a number of items including a string of 492 glass beads.

Significance

This bag and its contents were shown to Kunwinjku artists from Gunbalanya when they visited the collections at Melbourne Museum in 2004. The group believed the bag belonged to a woman who had passed away, and explained that it would normally have been placed with her when she was laid to rest. In this instance, the artists believed a family member has sold it to Paddy Cahill at Oenpelli.