As a symbol of a person’s spirit or soul, fish are prevalent in
Yolngu painting and the Ancestral Catfish features as an
important part of the Djalumbu [hollow log] ceremony. Manbiri
(the catfish) also came from the east, from Gapuwiyak. While
Murayana danced, people ate the Catfish and placed the bones
inside the hollow log. The darter feeds upon catfish and the
action of descending to snatch the catfish from underwater is a
metaphor for the transition from life to death. The bones of the
catfish which symbolise the bones and soul of the deceased
person are expressed as a parallel-line or herringbone pattern
in bark paintings as well as on hollow log coffins. Yirritja
artist Jimmy Wululu, Malangi’s nephew, who has rights to paint
Yathalamarra stories, is best known for his barks and hollow
logs decorated with the bone design, as featured in The
Aboriginal Memorial in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
gallery on the entrance level of the National Gallery of
Australia.  Excerpt from Margie West, ‘Yatha