The black granite sought by KGH is found within an area with layers of significance for Gija traditional owners in connection to two key Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) stories for Gija people; Garnkiny, the Moon Man and Goorlabal the Snake. As well as Dreaming sites and tracks there are places of familial and cultural importance dotted all over the area.

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Garnkiny is what R. Peters describes as 'a big story'. He means both that it covers a vast area of his country and that it concerns the most serious tenets of Gija law. The story is about a man who fell in love with a woman who was his mother-in-law within Gija kinship. When the elders refused to allow him his love, he cursed them and condemned humankind to mortality. This man comes back as the new moon every month, but we die and our bodies return to the earth. His love became the black headed snake and the stars are his promised wives. The story carries meanings about the most primary aspects of human experience and Gija law; death and mortality, love and desire, kinship and obligation. It is because of its significance to this story that the site was listed under the Aboriginal Heritage Act. Goorlabal the serpent is also a powerful Dreaming figure and holder of Law for all Gija people. The black granite removed by KGH is part of her tail. Her gargantuan body lies as stone stretching across a large expanse of country, part of which is within the area destroyed by the recent explosions and extractions.

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As well as Ngarranggarni stories, this part of their country holds familial significance for Mabel Juli and Rusty Peters and other traditional owners.  Close to the destroyed site are their family's burial places and sites of memory that have already been disturbed and any further mining or exploration in the area would be unacceptable, distressing and dangerous.

The sites and stories are painted by Warmun Art Centre's most senior artists including Mabel Juli and R. Peters and younger painters such as Mabel's daughter Marlene Juli.

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Garnkiny: Constellations of Meaning is a book depicting Garnkiny's travels across Gija country and featuring the work of acclaimed Gija artists Phyllis Thomas, Patrick Mung Mung, Jack Britten, Shirley Purdie, Mabel Juli, R. Peters, Hector Jandany, Charlene Carington and Mick Jawalji. It was produced by Warmun Art Centre in conjunction with an exhibition at RMIT in 2014 and can be purchased via: gallery (at) warmunart (dot) com (dot) au

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text by Anna Crane

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