Shania Puruntatameri / Pamajini (25-280)

Artwork is accompanied by Munupi Artists Certificate of Authenticity/Provenance

Born: 1999
Father’s Country: Malawu, Bathurst Island, NT
Mother’s Country: Yapalika, Melville Island
Skin: Takaringuwi (Scaly Mullet)
Language: Tiwi
Dreaming: Buffalo

Shania Puruntatameri is a Tiwi artist who paints for Munupi Art Centre in the Northern Territory.

Munupi Arts & Crafts Association is located along Melville Island’s north-western coastline at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on the Tiwi Islands. In 1990 the Yikikini Women’s Centre and Pirlangimpi Pottery were incorporated under the name Munupi Arts and Crafts Association giving local artists an opportunity to proudly celebrate Tiwi culture through both traditional and contemporary mediums.

For 35 years Munupi Arts has been a vital meeting place for the Tiwi people of the Pirlangimpi community for employment, cultural pride and well being.

Munupi Arts is wholly indigenous owned and governed. Generated income supports the artist’s families and therefore the whole Tiwi community.

Pamajini are ceremonial armbands traditionally worn by both men and women during Tiwi Ceremonies. These armbands offer spiritual protection, helping to ward off mapurtiti (bad spirits) during these important cultural rituals.

A uniquely Tiwi form of ceremonial costume and ornamentation, pamajini are carefully woven and plaited from pandanus leaves. The pandanus is dyed using natural pigments, creating vibrant and earthy tones reflective of the Tiwi environment. Feathers and seeds, are often added as decorative elements.