March 2025

Kungkarangkalpa / Seven Sisters

Kungkarangkalpa means the Seven Sisters. This is an extensive creation story that relates to the Pleiades constellation in the southern hemisphere. The story traverses Australia taking on different forms, however local women are privy to the part of the story which takes place in the country near Ernabella. For this part of the story, the man called Nyiru is chasing the sisters as he wants to sleep with the oldest sister. All the younger sisters are deeply afraid of him. As Nyiru is chasing the sisters, he tries to catch them by using magic to turn himself into the most tempting bush tomatoes for the sisters to eat and the most beautiful ili (fig) tree for the sisters to camp under. However, the sisters are aware of his magic and go hungry and run through the night rather than be caught by Nyiru. Eventually, to escape Nyiru, the sisters fly into the sky where they turn into stars and form the constellation.

Ngayuku Walka / My Design

Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.

Wanampi / Watersnakes (Rainbow Serpent)

Two women were hunting carpet snakes for food. Two Rainbow Serpent (Wanampi) men are watching. Next morning the sisters again hunt for snakes and find two tails lurking from a hole in the ground. But they are the Wanampi tricking the women into following them. Each time the sisters grab for the tails, the snakes disappear underground, and they keep doing this all the way to a place called Piltardi, where the women finally see them in human form. The men make the sisters transform into Wanampi and take them as their wives. The two Wanampi couples live at Piltardi, and in the old days, people would go there in times of need and ask the spirit of the Wanampi to help them. The snake ancestors gave them cooked meat and made rain.

Freddy’s Tjitji Tjuta (Many Children) Story

There were two brothers, young ones, about 19 years old, big boys. Their mother didn’t like them. She told them to follow their other brothers, said goodbye and sent them away.

One day these young fellas, when they were travelling, it was a really sun shining day, getting hot. Big rain coming and all the boys were sleeping in the daytime. There were some disabled young people there. The rain when the rain came, kulata (spears) came too and the disabled ones couldn’t walk, and too late, sorry, some kids passed away. This is a true story. Palya (ok).

Ngayuku Walka / My Design

Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.

Wanampi / Watersnakes (Rainbow Serpent)

Two women were hunting carpet snakes for food. Two Rainbow Serpent (Wanampi) men are watching. Next morning the sisters again hunt for snakes and find two tails lurking from a hole in the ground. But they are the Wanampi tricking the women into following them. Each time the sisters grab for the tails, the snakes disappear underground, and they keep doing this all the way to a place called Piltardi, where the women finally see them in human form. The men make the sisters transform into Wanampi and take them as their wives. The two Wanampi couples live at Piltardi, and in the old days, people would go there in times of need and ask the spirit of the Wanampi to help them. The snake ancestors gave them cooked meat and made rain.