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Pangkapirni

Pangkapirni is a very significant place to the Artist. This is her Ngurra (home) country where she lived and travelled throughout the Pujiman (bush) days with her family. It is not far from the Community of Kunawarritji which is also known as Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route and is an important Minyi Puru place. Minyi Puru is a Jukurrpa (dreamtime) story about seven sisters that are travelling throughout the desert running away from an old man called Yurla. The man chases the wantis (women) all the way from Roebourne on the west coast right through Martu country before flying east. Along the way they stop at a lot of important places to camp, sing, dance and collect bush tucker. There are also many interactions with Yurla when he catches up with them along the way, creating an amazing abundance of stories and meaning with this culturally rich narrative.

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Jartuti

“Jartuti water place east of Parnngurr. In pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) days old people walked and hunted there, we went there recently with KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa) ranger mob, lovely place.” 

 – Beverley Rogers

Jartuti is a water source located close to Parnngurr Aboriginal Community (otherwise known as Cotton Creek), and is part of Beverley’s father’s ngurra (home Country, camp). The site is near to the home of the jangara (cannibal devil), spiritual beings from the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) era.

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Bush Medicine

Traditional Martu knowledge of plant properties was encyclopedic, and saw plants used for purposes as diverse as food resources, carving implements, tobacco, firewood, shelter construction, and bush medicines. Depicted in this work are types of bush medicines, their habitats, and the processes used in their preparation. 

Physical ailments treated with plant based poltices, body washes, drinks, rubs and pastes included fever, congestion, headache, skin sores, aching limbs, and digestive problems. More serious health issues were often treated with a combination of bush medicine and maparn (magic healing/ healer).

Plants still prepared to make bush medicines today include warlji (desert bloodwood), kalpari (Dysphania Kalpari) and nayju (green crumbweed), which can be soaked in a water solution to make a skin wash. One of the most popular types of bush medicine still used today is wanta (red sap), collected from the mijarrpa (bloodwood) tree and brewed as a tea to ease heart pains and other body aches.