The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
“When I go out hunting, I like to see all the bush flowers that are flowering and then when I come back, I paint them.”
The artists of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories. The artists paint their country where those stories sit.
These bush flowers grow seasonly in Alyawarr country, some of which are also used in bush medicine remedies.
“When I go out hunting, I like to see all the bush flowers that are flowering and then when I come back, I paint them.”
The seeds are collected under a tree by laying a tarp on the ground and hitting the tree continuously until most of the seeds have fallen. Once the seeds are collected they are then ground with a mortar and grinding stone.
A number of these grinding stones have been in families for generations. Once seeds are ground, water is added and mixed until a damper like substance is formed and placed under the coals until cooked.
The Juwari is the Devil Spirit.
He is the power, force and spirit of creation iitself, and everything within it and within us He is the creation of country and the land, of the weather & seasons, of all the elements. He is the source of all forms of life and of death.
The Gija people present Rover Thomas’s dreamtime story, through performing the Joonba- A traditional dance and song ceremony called Gurrir Gurrir. Rover was given this dreamtime by the Juwari
This Gija story as told by senior Gija elder Patrick Mung and Cultural leader Jane Yalunga (Rover Thomas’s only daughter).
The story shares ‘there were three Juwari, from Wyndham side, from Gija country and down that way. Each one had a Joonba, it different each way. Them Juwari been fighting who is the strongest and who will bring them joonba to the Old man.
The Gija Juwari won and that was the start of the beginning, the birth of the corroboree and the Joonba- Gurrir Gurrir, as it is today’
Well this the dreamtime story about Wardal and Garn’giny (star and moon). That’s what my mother and dad told me about that Dreamtime thing.
“Garn’giny ngelmang roord-ngarri nginji.
The moon sits in the east.
Wardal dal gerloorr ngarrgalen.
The star sits on top of the hills.
Laarne berdij nginiyi danyi garn’giny.
The moon went and climbed that hill.
Wijige-ngarri ngoorramangbe-ngiyiwa thamboorroo-gal.
They made him run away because he loved his mother-in-law.
(That moon loved his mother in-law, but they told him he couldn’t love her and to go away.)
Ganybelgbe nginini.
He felt shame (and climbed up the hill).
Gerlewirring deg nginini.
He was looking from on top [of the hill].
Nginini-birri “Nanggayib barrroonnha.”
He told all the people “You will all die.”
Nginini-birri “Ngayimoowana mooliyinde ngenben’ge.
He told them “I will be the only one living”.
(He cursed those people.)
“Boora-boorab ngeliyande” wanemayi-birri melagawoom dam, woorrji-ngarri berrani yilag.
“I will keep coming back” he told them all, while they were sitting down below.
(You are all going to die and I will be still alive, coming out.)
“Daam merrgernbem boorarrgarr ngeliyande.”
“After three days camp I will rise from the dead.”
Nanggayibwa berrayin-gili namoowana ngininji.
They all died and he was the only one that stayed alive.
Merrgern daam nginji boorab ngidji, daam merrgernbem.”
He camps (sleeps ~ dies) for three days then appears (again as the moon), after three days.
This is Yarin country in Darrajayin (Springvale Station) which lies south of Warmun. This is Juli’s traditional country.
The star in the paintings is the promised wife of the moon, the straight skin to be his wife. He wanted dawool, the woman who became the black headed python who was the mother of wardal, the star, i.e. his mother-in-law.
“Bush medicine plants are used for healing on the body and for drinking. We make this by grinding the plants with a rock, we use the juice and the fibre of the plant.
We collect bush medicine plants when we are out hunting. Different kinds of plants grow during different seasons.
There are lots of different medicines, we know what their stories are, we learnt them from our parents and we teach these stories to our children.”
Bush medicine knowledge is still strong in Ampilatwatja, it continues to be passed down to the younger generations and is widely used.
When the women go hunting they often gather bush medicine. The plants depicted here are found in the country around Ampilatwatja, they are used for soothing skin infections and to make a drink to help with colds and coughs.
Painting bush medicine stories is important because it helps to maintain a strong knowledge and culture for the community.
The community of Ampilatwatja made a conscious decision not to paint ‘altyerr’ dreaming stories, the artists paint their country where those stories sit.
This painting shows the layered landscape of Alyawarr, Central Australia. Knowing your country is an important part of living in a remote community like Ampilatwatja. Knowing when and where to go hunting and gathering, knowing where there is ‘soakage’ (where you can dig for water), travelling with family for ceremonies, and maintaining a connection with the land.
“This is my country, my view of country.”
The painting is of the country of Spring Vale Station, Bailinyin. Recently, in the wet season, Rusty traveled to this place with his grandchildren. There they were shown how to catch and kill a goanna, they learnt new Gija words, they learnt about Rusty’s life on this country – it is where he was born and where he worked as a young man. They leant about historical, complicated politics of the land and Rusty’s experience of it and relations to it. In the left hand corner, Rusty has painted red soils plains, the black area is the soil and the yellow ochre parts are the flat country. The grey is Warnidiwal creek. It is tributary of Bullock Hole, a popular rest spot for Rusty and his family and others who lived and worked on Springvale station.
I’ve been given this story to paint, Rusty gave it to me.
-Eileen Bray Joomena
Well this the dreamtime story about Wardal and Garn’giny (star and moon). That’s what my mother and dad told me about that Dreamtime thing.
“Garn’giny ngelmang roord-ngarri nginji.
The moon sits in the east.
Wardal dal gerloorr ngarrgalen.
The star sits on top of the hills.
Laarne berdij nginiyi danyi garn’giny.
The moon went and climbed that hill.
Wijige-ngarri ngoorramangbe-ngiyiwa thamboorroo-gal.
They made him run away because he loved his mother-in-law.
(That moon loved his mother in-law, but they told him he couldn’t love her and to go away.)
Ganybelgbe nginini.
He felt shame (and climbed up the hill).
Gerlewirring deg nginini.
He was looking from on top [of the hill].
Nginini-birri “Nanggayib barrroonnha.”
He told all the people “You will all die.”
Nginini-birri “Ngayimoowana mooliyinde ngenben’ge.
He told them “I will be the only one living”.
(He cursed those people.)
“Boora-boorab ngeliyande” wanemayi-birri melagawoom dam, woorrji-ngarri berrani yilag.
“I will keep coming back” he told them all, while they were sitting down below.
(You are all going to die and I will be still alive, coming out.)
“Daam merrgernbem boorarrgarr ngeliyande.”
“After three days camp I will rise from the dead.”
Nanggayibwa berrayin-gili namoowana ngininji.
They all died and he was the only one that stayed alive.
Merrgern daam nginji boorab ngidji, daam merrgernbem.”
He camps (sleeps ~ dies) for three days then appears (again as the moon), after three days.
This is Yarin country in Darrajayin (Springvale Station) which lies south of Warmun. This is Juli’s traditional country.
The star in the paintings is the promised wife of the moon, the straight skin to be his wife. He wanted dawool, the woman who became the black headed python who was the mother of wardal, the star, i.e. his mother-in-law.
