596-24TA, Tjala Arts, acrylic on linen, 198 x 152 cm
Mamu can be both good and bad spirits The harmful mamu are dangerous spirit forces, evil spirits, monsters and are believed to cause illness and madness. Where as the 'good' spirits help to keep away the evil mamu and look aer people, particularly their relatives and children. The women say the good mamu will look after you when you are travelling.They come in different forms and with varying powers. Mamu is also a general term for monsters and other horrible dangerous creatures such as insects.The mamu spirit are night-dwelling. The evil mamu is always on the look out for the kurunpa (spirits) of children who have left their sleeping bodies, heedless of the dangers and go frolicking among the gum trees. If caught, the child spirit is eaten. It is believed a child whose spirit has been eaten becomes listless and out of sorts. The family will seek out a Ngangkari (traditional healer) to return the child’s spirit. In this painting the good mamu is a dead relative of the family groups of mothers, fathers and children depicted. The good mamu is protecting his relatives from the bad mamu. Theses bad mamu are on the look out for straying spirits belong to the children.
