111582367140

Published by CompNet Systems on

Old Lady’s Collecting Seed

Depicted in this work are traditional types of bush tucker, their habitats, and their related hunting and gathering methods. 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 remains 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. 

Typically, animals hunted for their kuwiyi (meat) include kirti-kirti (euro kangaroo) and marlu (plains kangaroo), parnajarrpa (sand goanna), kipara (Australian bustard, bush turkey) and karlaya (emu). Lunki (witchetty grub) and wuukurta (honey ants) are dug from tree and bush trunks, or from underground nests. Popular mayi (plant food) includes minyarra (bush onion), collected from small, grass like plants; root vegetables dug from underground such as kulyu and mata (types of bush potato); and seeds such as kalaru (samphire, salt bush), yuwinyji, and marnkalpa (spinifex species). Jawirli (quondong), wamurla (bush tomatoes), jinyjiwirrily (wild gooseberry), ngaputa (melon), and karlkula (bush banana) are some of the most popular bush fruits. These are often collected in the wantajarra (cool season) and tuulpara (spring) months, along with juri (sweet) botanical gums and wama (nectar), obtained from various plant species. 

Traditional tools used for hunting and gathering bush tucker were carved from wanari (mulga), mulunturu (desert oak), yurungkura (river red gum) and mijarrpa (bloodwoods), and included kurlata (spears), jurna (hitting stick), karli (boomerangs), wana (digging-sticks), piti (timber bowls used for carrying food and water), and jiwa (grinding stones for grinding seeds into flour). While carved objects retain enormous social and ceremonial importance in Martu life, they are no longer used for hunting and gathering.

Categories: Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

Name: Noreena Kadibil

Language: Putijarra

Community: Parnngurr

Biography:

"My country is Katjarra (Carnarvon Range) between wells 6 and 9 on the Canning Stock Route. This is my dad’s country and my grandfather’s and grandmother’s Country. Mum was born in Savory Creek. My grandmother used to live in Jigalong before Old Jigalong got started. I grew up in Wiluna and on Lake Violet Station, but we moved to Jigalong in 1969 after my father passed away. I moved to Parnngurr with my husband and five children in 1984. There was too much humbug in town, it’s a quieter place out here.

I only paint my grandfather’s and grandmother’s Country- that’s our traditional lands. I have other Country but there’s other people mixed up in it. I paint pictures of my Country to keep it safe and to show my kids how to look after it."

– Noreena Kadibil 

 

Noreena Kadibil is a senior Martu artist whose work is grounded in deep cultural and familial ties to her ancestral lands of Katjarra, located between Wells 6 and 9 on the Canning Stock Route. Taught by her parents and grandparents, Noreena paints to preserve and pass on knowledge of her traditional Country, ensuring future generations can continue to care for it.

Noreena was taught about her traditional lands and how to survive in the desert by her parents and grandparents. Noreena’s mother, Daisy, was a member of the Stolen Generations and one of the sisters whose journey inspired the acclaimed film Rabbit Proof Fence. Today, Noreena continues to pass her knowledge on to her children and grandchildren, both through storytelling and painting.

Related Posts

Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

111582367141

Yimiri Yimiri comprises two freshwater soaks situated in the middle of a salt lake in the Percival Lakes area, within Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Around these soaks the Country is dominated by permanent tuwa Read more…

Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

111582367139

Untitled How did you get to this style of painting? “Do you mean, what have I done with my life? (chuckles to herself) To me these paintings are a sense of energy. So if I Read more…

Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

111582367138

Family Groups Martumili Artists work with over three hundred artists from remote Martu Aboriginal communities, including Punmu, Parnngurr, Kunawarritji, Jigalong, Irrungadji (Nullagine), and Warralong, as well as from the Parnpajinya (Newman) gallery and studio spaces. Read more…

© the artist / art centre