Jack Dale

This painting features on page 100 in the monograph “Jack Dale Mengenen” by Neil McLeod.
Djunba Dancer with Jadie Corroboree Hat and Niowun Head Decoration which belongs to a Bird.
Djunba Dancer old time.
Signed Jack Dale verso.

A Djunba is a form of commemorative dance that is traditional to Ngarinyin and other Wandjina people. The preparations include the construction of a screen made from tree branches and sheets of bark [the dance board]. The dancers paint and ornament their bodies with ochre, tassles and headdresses behind the screen in advance of a ritualised emergence before an eager and appreciative audience. The Djunba is then performed to the accompaniment of an orchestra sitting in front of the audience. Djunba dance and song continues to play an important role in the lives of the senior people who were also the backbone of the Kimberley cattle industry in its day.