Jack Dale

Signed Jack Dale verso. Interesting bronze/copper paint used on the Djalala. Derby, W.A. 2006
Jalala – Marking Stones (Note traditional spelling is Djalala) There are several uses of the marking stones called Jalala, including the marking of boundaries between lands and their use as signal stones to mark a sacred site. “Marker stones divide our land from other people’s land” Jack Dale. Ngarinyin land is to the East, Bunuba land is south, and Unggumi land is to the west. The Jalala are markers from the dreamtime, “People have to stick to their boundaries. If you dont know the country you can follow the stones to the Wandjina” Jack Dale. Signal stones – Jalala A reminder to a person that they are approaching a sacred site or taboo area. These stones are sometimes placed near paintings of Wandjinas. Our God Wandjina created our garden of Eden Your God created Adam and Eve garden of Eden Where is this place? Can we see it ? Look around? We can prove our creation It is in the water, the rocks The missionaries said our culture rubbish You should learn true way, bible But we already have our evidence Djalala one way Jack Dale Djalala ( General Jalala story) A lot of people died unhappy when we were taken from our land. We are in the desert now, strange country we don’t know. We can’t give evidence now. How can people understand what we are telling them, all our symbols have gone we are too far away. Lot’s of people learned white man’s rules but nobody recognised our law. It was bad when we saw loads of stones smashed up in our land. Many of these stones were special stones like in my paintings. These stones we call Djalala, which separate our country from somebody else’s country. We were taught to care for our country, it’s our mother, it’s our birthright, it’s our father’s land too. We had to follow white man’s law, that’s when misery came to us. Buses now come to pick up our kids for school, white school and all the sex business in town with black woman, our colour is changing, now we are getting lighter. Many people too old to walkabout country, but these Djalala very important for us. It’s our evidence that Wandjina created. Jack Dale