The Yolŋu world is a wholistic continuum with the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual and that between life and death more permeable than that of secular Australia.

Ancestral spirits are present in the landscape and at the forefront of people’s interpretation of their lived experience in a vibrant and largely unspoiled natural landscape.

As all elements of that landscape are understood to occupy a particular position in the overarching architecture of Gurruṯu it means that any plant, bird or animal signifies a clan and place in the songs.

This being the case it is normal for Yolŋu people to attribute a specific clan identity to any feature of the natural environment that makes itself apparent. A bird is never just a bird but a mnemonic to a person dead or alive, a place and a whole network of kinship. Yolŋu perceive this as the spiritual world sending a signal.

The Yirritja birds, Ŋerrk the sulphur crested cockatoo and the smaller Laparr or bronze wing pigeon are sung by multiple Yirritja clans including Dhaḻwaŋu and Gumatj. At times of Yolŋu mourning/mortuary the spirit of ancestors past may visit the site of grieving manifesting as these birds.

Edition of 50.