Balmarra, Seven Sisters 2002

Balmarra are totemic dance frames that Indigenous dancers in the north of Western Australia use in ceremonies and public performances. While they were originally made from pandanus string and human hair, contemporary versions are usually made of brightly coloured wools. When the dancers are not using the balmarra, they tuck the elongated forms into their belts, where they are held in place by crossed wooden sticks.

In Balmarra, Seven Sisters 2002, Alan Griffiths has reproduced visions of the Bali Bali (ghost) song cycle that came to him in a dream. The seven small diamonds represent the handheld Balmarra that the sisters used as they danced in a swaying motion, representing the ebb and flow of flood waters of Spillway Creek and the Ord River. In Balmarra 1 2002, Griffiths commemorates the disappearance of his daughter, Jan, and the Bali Bali character believed to have stolen her from her family; in Balmarra, small boat 2002, he refers to his people’s interactions with Macassan fishermen and their trading boats, and the dreams he subsequently had about the Macassans’ songs and dances.