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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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
This ceramic basket was hand built by Lynette to her own design.
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.
221282300147
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.