VALDA NAPANGARDI GRANITES
Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming)
The Mina Mina Jukurrpa tells the story of a group of ancestral ‘karnta’ (women) who traveled from west to east. In the Dreamtime, these ancestral women danced at Mina Mina and ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks) rose up out of the ground. They collected these digging sticks and started travelling to the east. They carried their digging sticks over their shoulders and they were adorned with ‘majardi’ (hairstring belts), white feathers, and necklaces made from ‘yinirnti’ (bean tree seeds. They continuously anointed themselves with ‘minyira’ (shiny fat) to increase their ritual powers as they went along.
As the women travelled, they were followed by a ‘yinkardakurdaku’ (spotted nightjar) from the Jakamarra subsection. The bird would call out and then hide in the bushes behind them as they travelled. When the women danced at Mina Mina, they created a large dust cloud that swept up the ‘walyankarna’ (snake ancestors). The ‘walyankarna’ had previously transformed themselves from witchetty grubs into snakes at Kunajarrayi and they had stopped at Mina Mina to watch the women dance. This dust cloud blew the ‘walyankarna’ further north to Yaturluyaturlu.
The women went east from Mina Mina, dancing, digging for bush tucker, collecting ‘ngalyipi’ (snakevine), and creating many places as they went. They went on to Janyinki and stopped at Wakakurrku (Mala Bore), where they stuck their digging sticks in the ground. The women then went on to Lungkardajarra (Rich Bore), where they looked back towards their country in the west and started to feel homesick for what they’d left behind.
Theyn split up at Lungkardajarra. Some of them travelled eastwards to Yarungkanyi (Mount Doreen), and kept going east. The other group of women travelled travelled northwards from Lungkardajarra to Karntakurlangu. These women stopped at Karntakurlangu to dig for ‘wardapi’ (sand monitor/goanna) and ‘jintiparnta’ (desert truffle) before travelling further north. However, both groups of women eventually got so homesick for their desert oak country in the west that they went all the way back to Mina Mina, where they stayed for good.
In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography can be used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites, and other elements. In paintings of this Jukurrpa, sinuous lines are used to represent the ‘ngalyipi’ (snakevine). Concentric circles are often used to represent the ‘jintiparnta’ (desert truffles) that the women have collected, while straight lines can be used to depict the ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks).
Year: 2022
Dimensions: 1200 x 1520 mm
Medium: Synthetic Polymer Paints on Belgian Linen
Stretching Status: Stretched
$6,250.00 AUD
We deliver artworks both rolled in a tube (unstretched) and ready to hang (stretched). We offer complimentary delivery on unstretched works within Australia. All other delivery methods will be quoted after purchase.