Painted, post-like figure sculptures are derived from the carved poles (tutini) made by the Tiwi on Bathurst and Melville Islands to surround the grave of the deceased in Pukumani or funerary ceremonies. This Janus figure probably represents the ancestor Purukuparli on one side, and his wife Bima on the other. The age of the latter indicated by the drooping breasts. The couple had a new born child called Jinani. Bima had an illicit relationship with Purukuparli's brother, Tapara the Moon Man, and through her neglect Jinani died. In his grief, Purukuparli carried his dead son out into the waves and drowned, thus bringing death to the Tiwi people. Pukumani is one of the great rituals of the Tiwi and is the occasion for the making of range of art and artefacts, from the poles to bark baskets and intricately decorated spears and arm-bands. It is possible that the artist was assisted in the creation of this work by her husband, the renowned Tiwi sculptor Paddy Henry Ripijinginpi (1925-99).