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DELISSA WALKER | 'Kakan Woven Round Earrings - Natural Black Palm' | Stainless steal hooks
DELISSA WALKER | 'Kakan Woven Round Earrings - Natural Black Palm' | Stainless steal hooks
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“My name is Delissa Walker Ngadijina. I am a Kuku Yalanji Master Weaver based in Cairns, Far North Queensland. I grew up in the Daintree rainforest with my mother and in Mosman with my grandmother. I come from a very large culturally active family. Most of my weekends as a child were spent traditionally hunting and gathering food, swimming and basket weaving.
I learnt how to make dilly bags with my late grandmother Wilma Walker from a very young age. I have very fond memories of traveling with Nana and assisting with weaving demonstrations and classes. She was an inspiration and a very famous weaver.
I now teach weaving locally and have two young daughters Amerie-kay and Eloise who have also learnt to make baskets . They are wonderful helpers and love teaching others how to weave. My son Jiah also helps gather the natural materials in the Daintree and also cleans the fibre for me.”
“These weavings are made from our Black Palm fibre, which I harvest myself near the Daintree Rainforest.
“Nana Walker taught me how to weave when I was little and she taught lots of other people in Mossman too.
But I’m one of the only people who is working with the black palm which I harvest from up home and near Mum’s place at Cow Bay in the Daintree. For every palm I take I plant another as they can take 30 years to be ready.
For a basket I might use a whole black palm, stripping all the fronds from the top of the tree. They are very strong bers and there is quite a process to prepare it. My cousins often use the beautiful timber from the trunk for carvings so nothing is wasted.
These baskets been made for thousands of years up here. They are used for all sorts of things, even carrying babies. When my Nana was little her mother put her in a Kakan basket to hide her when they were taking Aboriginal ‘mixed-race’ babies from Mossman.
I use the same basketry knotting and tying techniques to create my baskets and contemporary pieces like my jewellery and these open woven mats.” - Delissa Walker
DELISSA WALKER | 'Woven Round Earrings - Natural Black Palm' | Stainless steal hooks
