Bruce Borey
16 artworks

Queensland, Australia
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Artwork Description

Acrylic on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

This story is about Jabams. Witchity grubs or Jabams are the larvae of small insects that we, as Aboriginal people, eat. They have sustained the lives of Indigenous people for many thousand of years.
I did this painting as a sign of respect for the food that nourishes our bodies..

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Medium

Acrylic on canvas

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Stretched and ready to hang

This artwork is currently stretched and ready to hang.

All art by Bruce Borey

The Magpie story This Dreamtime story is about the Magpie “Jawong”and how the bird became a fearsome warrior. In the Dreamtime the Magpie was black. In the Dreamtime all the clans had gathered for the Woman’s Bora Ceremony . A special ceremony for women only, where young girls would go through a right of passage from young girls to women. At the end of the ceremony the girls would be accepted as young women with the respect of the elders and all our people. They no longer would be treated as children. This would be the second step in their journey as members of the community. All the women were there from the Grandmothers, the Mothers, Aunties and older sisters that had passed through the Bora before them. The Bora had been steadily progressing under the full moon and each day as the women painted the young girls body, a little black bird would sing for them. The songs in the evening made every one feel special and filled their hearts with joy. Then one evening when the bird was singing, an evil spirit knocked the little bird out of a tree and it fell to the ground. All the women went silent - it was as if the joy had been pulled out of them. The Grandmothers were shocked and then fuming that something had caused the day to be spoiled for the women. Then a ‘clever woman’ picked up the little bird in her hand covered it in white ochre for the Ceremony, with it’s head flopping to one side. She held it’s head between her thumb and fore finger and started rubbing its beak on a sharpening stone. While she rubbed the bird’s beak on the stone, she started singing a sacred song taught to her by the Sky People . Then the other Grandmothers started humming and singing this very low sounding song and everything seemed to stand still. The leaves and shadows seeming to swirl around them. There was no sound except for the humming and singing of the women. The girl became frightened but seeing what the other women were doing, they began humming as well. Then the Clever Woman held up the bird and it opened it’s eyes and flew up into the trees. The little bird painted with the sacred white Ochre on it’s beak and back was now a fearsome warrior and still had it’s beautiful voice. Magpie now remembered that it was knocked out of a tree by a stranger and a spirit woman brought the bird back to life but when it looked down at all the women, they were all painted so the bird didn’t know which one did the painting . Now the Magpie builds it’s nest high up in a tree before the full moon in August and will attack all strangers that pass below, until the last moon in November, until women business is over. It will attact all strangers that pass below it’s nest. This story and painting is inspired by stories that I heard growing up in my community.This painting symbolises the right of passage For thousand of years in winter my people have hunted the Yungun in a sustainable way. Both for them and for us. Each year after the summer rains, silt washes out into Deception Bay from the Mary River into Butchulla country near K'gari. The silt covers the sea grass beds of K'gari and the Yungun sourse of food is covered with this silt. The Yungun swim south into my Country, Quandamooka . This painting tells this storey. In the centre is the Mary River, and what we call Yungun (dugong) grass which the Yungun feed on as the weather gets cooler. My people will watch the beaches and the sea for this grass and once it is seen wash up on the beach or floating on the surface of the water, we know they are in our Country and feeding. The signs that our Country gives us tell us all we need to know about what is happing with the animals and environment within our Country. The other images are images of other animals and food that comes to us as a gift from our Sea Country such as Binging the turtle, Ugurie a shellfish and the many different types of fish that visit us in these cooler months. After the Yungun have spent the winter in our country they will head north, back to K'gari and Butchulla Country. The silt would have turned the sea beds of K'gari into a lush feeding grounds for them. The poem Grandfather Willy McKenzie his smiling face a pleasure to behold. A robust man in his ageing years full of Aboriginal lore Seen often on the football field Teaching the children the boomerang throw Children sat around in awe when told of our folklore He taught them the different corroborees Of the days long long ago. Told them of his wanderings, Aboriginal words and meanings And of nature's way in this great land of ours Grandfather McKenzie with the children brought joy to one and all This learned man in cultural ways Lover of children and his fellow man Teacher, Story Teller and a Childs Best Friend.
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