Spindle whorl with bay leaves 19 April 2020

The Illawarra is Dharawal country, with Wodi Wodi, and Yuin people to the south. The days of the virus bring quiet, so that the roar of traffic in the distance is stilled and you can begin to discern a shimmer of the other way of being in the country before the the settlers changed everything. There are still Dharrawal words to learn like wugan, crow. Below, I have painted a tiny flock of crows flying over the land. And all these birds, still seen frequently have Dharrawal names - Fairy wren is muruduwin, black cockatoo is garadi, hawk is bunda, king parrot is guma, sulphur-crested cockatoo is garrawi, tawny frogmouth is binit, and wonga pigeon is wunga wunga, so that we still use the original  name for at least one bird. Perhaps by giving them their ancient names we can enrich the birds' perception of the newer mixed people and encourage the continuous inhabiting of this place by the essential creatures who give it a voice.

The spindle whorl is a nearly extinct artefact too, speaking of twisting movements once common by the hand that might still be a thing to learn again.

Diana Wood Conroy Spindle whorl with bay leaves, watercolour on Arches pape,r 15 x 21 cm, April 19, 2020