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Status: Stock

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Ngujarna / Yuwinyji (Woollybutt Grass)

Ngujarna / Yuwinyji (woollybutt grass) by Danielle Booth is part of a series of bushfood depictions, originally painted on country in preparation for Martumili Exhibition, Mirrka (bushfoods).

 

Ngujarna, or yuwinyji, is a perennial grass commonly known as woollybutt grass. The plant grows up to sixty centimetres in height and forms extensive grasslands over spinifex sandplains throughout the arid zone of Western Australia. The plant is prized by Martu for the seeds it produces between March and May. When harvested, the seed heads are stripped from the plant before husks are removed by rubbing between the palms. The seeds are then yandied and grounded to produce a type of flour, which is finally mixed with water and cooked to make damper.

During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, Martu would traverse very large distances annually in small family groups, moving seasonally from water source to water source, and hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went. Whilst desert life has moved away from mobile hunter-gatherer subsistence throughout the course of the twentieth century, bush tucker continues to be a significant component of the modern Martu diet. Hunting and gathering bush tucker remain equally valuable as an important cultural practice that is passed on intergenerationally. Though hunting and gathering implements have been modernised, methods of harvesting, tracking and the use of fire burning to drive animals from their retreats are still commonly practiced today.