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Linyji (claypan)

This work depicts a linyji (claypan) within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Claypans were visited more often during the wet seasons as they filled with water. 

During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, knowledge of water sources was critical for survival, and today Martu Country is still defined in terms of the location and type of water. Each of the hundreds of claypans, rockholes, waterholes, soaks and springs found in the Martu desert homelands is known through real life experience and the recounting of Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives by name, location, quality and seasonal availability. This encyclopedic knowledge extends even to the nature and movement of arterial waterways, and sustained Martu as they travelled across their Country, hunting and gathering, visiting family, and fulfilling ceremonial obligations. They would traverse very large distances annually, visiting specific areas in the dry and wet season depending on the availability of water and the corresponding cycles of plant and animal life on which hunting and gathering bush tucker was reliant.

Categories: Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

Name: Nola Ngalangka Taylor

Language: Manyjilyjarra

Community: Parnngurr

Biography:

Ngalangka was born at Wirrinyalkujarra, northeast of Punmu Aboriginal community. Her mother was Warnman and Ngaanyatjarra, and her father was a Ngaanyatjarra man. Ngalangka is the youngest sister to fellow artists Muuki Taylor (OAM) and the late Wokka Taylor. When she was a child, Ngalangka’s family lived in the Percival Lakes area surrounding Wirnpa and Kirriwirri soaks, where they often met with Martu families coming from the North and West. Despite growing awareness of mission and station life, Ngalangka’s father was determined to remain living in the desert.

During a journey north to see Ngalangka’s two sisters in the Ngurarra (Joanna Springs) area, her father became critically ill. As the desert population continued to decrease, Ngalangka's family met with the Biljabu family. Together they lived in the Karlamilyi (Rudall River) region for a time.

After the passing of her father, Ngalangka’s family relocated to Jigalong Mission in 1965. Together, they walked to Balfour Downs Station, where they were collected by Jigalong Mission staff. Ngalangka, like many others, felt a profound and long-lasting sadness at having to leave her Country and adjust to mission life. In Jigalong Ngalangka began her schooling, later continuing her education in Port Hedland. She subsequently moved to Aboriginal communities; Strelley and then Jigalong, where she was employed as a health worker. Ngalangka eventually settled in Parnngurr with her husband, Nyarrie Morgan.

A founding member of Martumili Artists, Ngalangka has painted and woven baskets since 2000. As a cultural advisor and translator, she has been instrumental in the establishment and development of the group.

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