DN205

The ball like element, Wakai, seen in the print represents the undigested seagrass found in the stomach of the female dugong after it has been butchered. It was carried in the canoes when hunting, acting as a talisman or good luck charm to guarantee a fruitful harvest. Below the Wakai are tusks, Illub, which are only found on female dugongs. The artist has included these in the work to indicate that the Wakii is also only associated with female dugongs. The tusks were also used as a talisman and were attached to the bow of canoes and also the, Nath, which is a platform built over the seagrass beds which was the other traditional method of dugong hunting.