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Status: Stock

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Jalpinypa / Jalpinpa (Honey Grevillea, Flame Grevillea)

Jalpinypa / Jalpinpa (honey grevillea, flame grevillea) by Marita Lubin is part of a series of bushfood depictions, originally painted on country in preparation for Martumili Exhibition, Mirrka (bushfoods).

 

Jalpinypa, or jalpinpa (honey grevillea, flame grevilea) is a shrub with long, narrow leaves and arching branches. Following rains, the shrubs burst into colour with large green and then yellow-orange flowering spikes. The shrub is widespread throughout the Martu lands, and highly prized for the delicious wama (nectar) produced by its flowers. Wama is sucked directly from the plant, or the flowers picked and soaked in water to make a sweet drink.

During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, Martu would traverse very large distances annually in small family groups, moving seasonally from water source to water source, and hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went. Whilst desert life has moved away from mobile hunter-gatherer subsistence throughout the course of the twentieth century, bush tucker continues to be a significant component of the modern Martu diet. Hunting and gathering bush tucker remain equally valuable as an important cultural practice that is passed on intergenerationally. Though hunting and gathering implements have been modernised, methods of harvesting, tracking and the use of fire burning to drive animals from their retreats are still commonly practiced today.