March 2025

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Nyalpi Punu Ilykuwara (Leaf of Witchetty Tree)

Favourite bush foods of Anangu Pitjantjatjara include maku (witchetty grub). Until recently, bush foods were the primary sustenance for Anangu Pitjantjatjara. Many bush foods are still gathered regularly almost exclusively by women, thus 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.

Maku live in the ilykuwara tree, or witchetty bush, a tall shrub or a small tree. The maku live in the roots of the ilykuwara and this design is a depiction of its leaves.

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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.

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Tjala / Honey Ants

Tjala or honey ants live in nests about a metre underground beneath mulga trees, and they are a highly favoured food source. The tjala tunnels that lead down to the ants’ nests are called nyinantu, and the larvae are called ipilyka-ipilyka. After the rain when the ground is soft the women go digging for tjala by looking for the drill holes under the trees. They then use shovels and crowbars to dig down following the tunnels to find the tjala inside. Anangu suck the delicious rich honey-like liquid from the distended abdomen of the tjala. The story of the tjala is told across the Northern Territory into South Australia and is an important link between Anangu mythology and inter-dependence on the environment.

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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.

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Tjala / Honey Ants

Tjala or honey ants live in nests about a metre underground beneath mulga trees, and they are a highly favoured food source. The tjala tunnels that lead down to the ants’ nests are called nyinantu, and the larvae are called ipilyka-ipilyka. After the rain when the ground is soft the women go digging for tjala by looking for the drill holes under the trees. They then use shovels and crowbars to dig down following the tunnels to find the tjala inside. Anangu suck the delicious rich honey-like liquid from the distended abdomen of the tjala. The story of the tjala is told across the Northern Territory into South Australia and is an important link between Anangu mythology and inter-dependence on the environment.

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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.

---

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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.

---

---

Tjala / Honey Ants

Tjala or honey ants live in nests about a metre underground beneath mulga trees, and they are a highly favoured food source. The tjala tunnels that lead down to the ants’ nests are called nyinantu, and the larvae are called ipilyka-ipilyka. After the rain when the ground is soft the women go digging for tjala by looking for the drill holes under the trees. They then use shovels and crowbars to dig down following the tunnels to find the tjala inside. Anangu suck the delicious rich honey-like liquid from the distended abdomen of the tjala. The story of the tjala is told across the Northern Territory into South Australia and is an important link between Anangu mythology and inter-dependence on the environment.

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---

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.