March 2025

Maku Maku – Mr Jack’s Story

The story about maku (witchetty grub) is as vast and winding as their tracks depicted in my artwork.  It’s a story that I need to hold onto, to keep it safe. It’s important for me to keep some of these stories a secret, so I will tell a safe version that isn’t dangerous for you to hear. I will tell it from another perspective.

These important stories like this maku tjukurpa (story) inform my artwork and help Anangu to understand our history.  Maku is important for Anangu as a source of good food and also shows us an example of how beings can evolve and grow in positive ways. If the Maku travel underground for a long time they eventually make it out of the root systems of those trees and grow nyalpi (wings) and start a new way of being. They evolve. They shed their old ways and become new again.

As a pastor, I can see strong connections between our tjukurpa and the Bible. Long before Jesus, there was Tjukurpa and God together. I can see that God was always with us, in our stories; Jesus came later. I am trying to pass all this knowledge on to our young people to keep our stories alive. We need to hold on tight to tjukurpa; to keep it safe.  

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.

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.

Ngayuku Ngura – My Country

Artists use this title when they are depicting their Country. It might be a representation of a particular place or of different aspects of that area. The artist uses a combination of colour and design to indicate variations in the landscape. Inspiration is drawn from all elements of Country and might include bush tucker, water holes, meeting places, rock formation, birds or animals.

Maku – Witchetty Grub

Favourite bush foods of Anangu on the APY Lands include maku (witchetty grubs). Until relatively recently bush foods were the primary sustenance for Anangu. Many bush foods are still gathered regularly almost exclusively by women, and they feature strongly in women’s mark making. Women learn the art of gathering each of the foods from a young age and much inma (ceremony) relates to these practices and the maintenance of supply.

Anangu say that eating maku is good for the brain and mental health.

Wira Walka

Wira is a small cup-like digging bowl or multi-purpose object. In the early days this walka (design) was burnt with wire on to wooden carvings, particularly onto the wira. This association with women has seen the wira walka take on an identity as a female design. It is also highly reminiscent of the marks made in ochre or paint on a woman’s breasts during inma (ceremony). This design has become an iconic element in art from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yangkantjatjara Lands.