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Untitled

Depicted in this work are animals hunted for bush tucker, their habitats, and different hunting 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.

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. Tuulpara (spring) is considered by Martu as the principal hunting season, when resources are productive and the weather conducive to hunting activities requiring a high degree of stamina. 

Traditional tools used for hunting were carved from wanari (mulga), mulunturu (desert oak), yurungkura (river red gum) and mijarrpa (bloodwoods), and included kurlata (spears), jurna (hitting sticks), and karli (boomerangs). Today, animals are most typically hunted using vehicles and rifles. Nonetheless, carved objects retain enormous social and ceremonial importance in Martu life. Though hunting and gathering implements have been modernised, traditional methods of tracking and the use of fire burning to drive animals from their retreats are still commonly practiced today.

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.


© the artist / art centre